All I Want for Christmas
by Nattou
Summary: 24 days, 24 drawers, 24 memories and 24 chapters.
1. The Calendar

_**"All I Want for Christmas"**_** © Nattou; 30.11.10**

**This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon **_**High School Musical,**_** copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and **_**High School Musical 2**_**, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks**

**AN: **So this is my attempt at a Christmas story. I hope you like it. Thanks to all the girlies who have kept on encouraging this mad little project, you all know who you are.

**Chapter 1: The Advent Calendar**

November 30th

Gabriella Montez shivered as she hurried through the frozen park. The grass crunched under her feet and she tried desperately to sing even further into her thick coat and scarf. In a moment of stupidity she had decided to leave her gloves in her dorm; something her now red and numb fingers regretted immensely.

Another shiver ran up her back just as she laid eyes on the coffee cart parked along the footpath she was headed towards.

Burying her hands even deeper into her pockets she tried to count the coins in there without exposing her cold fingers to the evening air. Quickly giving up she scooped them all into the palm of her hand and continued walking.

"Got any hot chocolate?" she asked as she came to a halt in front of the cart.

"I sure do. Small, medium or large, miss?" The boy in charge asked in a voice far to chipper for the weather he was currently stuck in.

"Medium, please," Gabriella said as her eyes roamed across the price chart. Behind the small counter the young buy bustled about while whistling quietly. How could he possibly be this happy when it felt like the world around her was freezing to death?

"Do you want cream on that?" he asked.

"Yes, please."

Maybe he was of Eskimo descent, she wondered as the guy put a lid on the Styrofoam cup containing the heavenly hot liquid.

"2.95," he said and placed the steaming cup on the counter. Gabriella reluctantly pulled her hands out of her pocket s and counted the coins in her palm. Once she was certain she had the right amount she handed them over and gripped the cup with both hands.

"Have a nice evening, miss," the boy said and Gabriella found herself smiling back at him.

"Thank you."

He gave a short nod and she slowly turned around and continued walking down the path. The heat from the hot chocolate was seeping through the protecting cup and she nearly sighed in bliss when it reached her poor fingertips. Savoring the heat she lifted the cup to her mouth and took a small sip. The warmth traveled down her throat and spread through her chest.

Hot chocolate had never tasted better.

Around her the temperature had dropped another few degrees and seemed to bite her exposed skin as she quietly wondered what on earth she had been thinking when she picked Yale instead of Stanford. Sun, sand and sea… oh what she would do to have that, she thought as she watched her breath turn white in front of her face.

Despite the bitter cold, snow had yet to fall from the sky, something Gabriella wasn't sure if she was thrilled or bummed about. The white snow made the whole world look pretty and peaceful, but it also made getting around a whole lot more difficult. As her dorm room building came into view she noticed that the lights were on in her windows and smiled slightly. That meant that Cassidy was home.

Cassidy had been Gabriella's roommate since their freshman year. The two girls were very different in many ways, but they had gotten along from day one. At this point they were perfectly comfortable around each other, and respected each other's space, something Gabriella was very grateful for every time she overheard people complaining about their living arrangements. She couldn't imagine living with someone she couldn't stand to be around. That would make her entire college experience much less enjoyable. The thought alone made her shudder and she took another sip from her cup.

The closer she got to the building, the faster her feet seemed to move. She longed for a hot shower; a hot shower, a woolen blanket and a good book. Well… a book. She would most likely end up studying as finals were coming up far too soon for her liking.

Sighing she moved the strap of her messenger bag from her left shoulder to her right one. The bag swung around her back and threw her a little off balance just as her foot hit a frozen puddle. A gasp escaped her as she felt herself fall backwards towards the ground. Seemingly without thinking she used her hands to brace the fall and hissed in pain as the gravel dug into her delicate skin. The cup that had been cradled between her hands fingers hit the ground next to her, spilling it's scalding liquid over the top of her left hand.

She felt tears pool in her eyes and bit down on her lower lip gently. Through her nose she took a few deep breathes as she carefully sat up straight to inspect her injuries. Drops of blood seeped through the skin of her palm and she sniffled quietly.

"Stupid ice," she grumbled as she scrambled to her feet and picked up her bag again. As he did so the tell tale tunes of "You are the music in me" sounded from her phone and she found herself smiling despite her throbbing hands. Only one person had that specific ringtone, and that person was probably the only person she wanted to talk to right at that moment.

"Hi," she nearly choked out, mentally cursing her voice for breaking right away.

"_Are you crying, babe?" _he immediately asked after picking up on her distressed voice and shallow breathing.

Gabriella had learned long ago that when it came to Troy Bolton nothing but the truth would do. So instead of pretending nothing was up she sighed in somewhat defeat before answering.

"I fell," she said.

"_You fell? Where? Are you hurt?" _his worry was evident and the pure thought of what he'd do if they were together made her eyes cloud over once more. She needed to calm herself or she'd break completely.

"I'm fine; just some scratches and a slight burn. I slipped on some ice."

"_Ice? Burn?" _he sounded confused and she quickly realized just how contradicting that phrase sounded.

"I had a cup of hot chocolate," she explained.

"_Oh, Ella,"_ Troy sighed. _"Not a good day, huh?" _

"You could say that. It's cold and I'm tired, I have loads to do and … is it break time yet?"

She heard him sigh quietly and closed her eyes. She knew what was coming.

"_You know what I'd do if I was there right?"_

"I know…"

"_I'd…" _he started, but she cut him off.

"Troy don't…" her request was barely above a whisper but had its desired effect.

"_Ella…"_

"I know… but I miss you and id do anything to spend tonight cuddled up with your and just…" her voice broke on a sob just as she reached the dorm building. On the other end of the phone she heard Troy's deep breaths. She knew the separation was tough on him as well, but somehow he always managed to keep himself together.

"_Just a couple of more weeks now, baby-girl. Then we will have nearly a month where we can spend every waking and sleeping moment together."_

A sad smile crept onto her face at his words.

"That sounds like heaven right about now," she said as she reached out to open the heavy front door to her building. She grasped the knob but immediately regretted the action as the small cuts on her hands stretched against the cool metal and sent a wave of pain up her arm. The sharp intake of breath that travelled through the mouthpiece of her phone alerted her boyfriend of her discomfort, and was sure to make him more concerned than he already was.

"_Are you sure you're ok?" _he asked. "_That didn't sound very ok."_

"I'll be fine, Troy. It's just some scratches. I'll clean them up and I'll be all good again."

"_If you're sure." _His voice was skeptical and she fought an urge to roll her eyes. As sweet as his over protectiveness could be, he went total over board at times.

"I'm sure, worry wart," she teased playfully, happy to push the sadness and homesickness away for now.

"_You'd worry too, missy," _he responded and a real smile spread on her face. He was right and he knew it.

"Never said I wouldn't," she answered just as a faint knock sounded through the phone and a very familiar voice informed Troy that dinner was ready.

An odd sensation of sadness swept over her as she pictured the scene she had played a part in so many timed during high school. Troy wasn't the only one she was missing. She missed everyone she had left behind when she had left for college. Troy, her mom, Troy's parents Jack and Lucille, not to mention her old friends. Friends who were now scattered around the country at different schools.

Sometimes she _really _hated growing up.

"_I've got to go babe," _Troy's voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she wiped away a stray tear that had escaped.

"Yeah… I heard your mom. Tell them hi from me?"

"_Of course. Love you, baby."_

"Love you, too."

"_I'll call you tonight, ok?"_

"I'll be waiting."

"_Bye."_

"Bye," she said and snapped her phone shut. Christmas break really couldn't come fast enough, she thought before digging her keys out of her bag.

"Cass?" she called as the door swung open.

"In the bathroom. Out in a second!"

"Can you bring the first aid kit?" Gabriella asked as she shrugged out of her coat and hung it on the coat rack.

"First aid? Are you ok?"

"Yeah, just fell and scraped my hand."

"You've got to be more careful," Cassidy said as she walked into their small living room holding the small red box. Gabriella popped down on the couch with a sigh and pouted at her friend.

"You're not ok," the blond girl stated upon seeing her face. "You've been crying."

"I'm fine. Troy called… I got homesick." She explained, knowing Cassidy would let it go. She knew that when it came to Troy, Gabriella would rather not talk about him while she was missing him. it made things worse, not better.

"Ah. Well let me see that hand of yours then."

"You don't have to do that."

"I know. Now let me see."

Gabriella smiled softly and held her hands out in front of her. Cassidy carefully inspected the injuries before cleaning them and putting on some antiseptic salve. Neither one said a word until the first aid box and Gabriella was no longer bleeding.

"There, all better."

"Thanks, Cass."

"No worries. There's mail for you by the way. I put it on your bed. That boy of yours went a bit overboard this time I think. It's massive."

Gabriella's eyes shot up. Troy had sent her a present? He hadn't told her about that.

"You look like a question mark, why don't you just go look," Cassidy giggled.

Not needing to be told twice, Gabriella shot up from her seat, grabbed her bag and darted into her bedroom. She flicked the lights on and nearly gasped at the size of the box. It was at least 40 x 40 cm and her boyfriend's distinct handwriting was scribbled on top.

Biting her lip she dropped her bag and reached for the pair of scissors she kept on her desk.

It only took her a minute to pry the box of the item that was hidden inside, an item that left her wide eyed. To say that she was stunned was an understatement. Troy's present was not only stunning, but clearly handcrafted. She highly doubted he had made it all on his own, but it didn't matter. It was the most beautiful advent calendar she had ever seen. Each of the four sides had 6 small drawers and two Christmas related pictured. The top and bottom were in a deep red color, the same shade as the picture panels. White stickers on the top spelled out "Gabriella's Calendar" and she gently ran her fingers over the letters. As she did so she noticed the folded up sheet of paper that had fallen onto the bed. Picking it up she unfolded it with trembling fingers.

_Ella, _

_A long time ago you told me about this advent calendar your father made you as a child.  
You said you lost it the summer before your father passed away when a cousin accidently spilled soda all over it.  
Your dad promised you he'd make you a new one, but he never got around to it.  
I don't know if this one resembles your old one at all, but I made it for you with that in thought (ok, so mom might have helped a little, but the idea was mine.)  
I hope this one will bring more joy than sadness.  
You know how it works, but don't cheat!_

_I'll see you in a couple of weeks gorgeous. _

_Troy_

The tears she had tried so hard to hold back earlier started trailing down her cheeks long before she finished reading the note. How he remembered that she had no idea. Several years had passed since she told him that story, and as far as she could remember that was the one and only time it had been brought up.

She had obviously underestimated her boyfriends memory.

Shaking her head in touched disbelief she grabbed her phone and typed in a short message.

_It's perfect and I love it. Can't wait for tomorrow. _

_Love you. _

_**AN: **_So there you have it. Please let me know what you think.

Xxx Caroline xxX


	2. December 1st

_**"All I Want for Christmas"**_** © Nattou; 30.11.10**

**This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon **_**High School Musical,**_** copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and **_**High School Musical 2**_**, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks**

**AN: **Another day, another chapter :)

**December 1st**

Wednesday morning found New Haven dressed in white. Sometime during the night the snow had started drizzling and by the morning hours it had coated most of the town in a thick white blanket. The normal hustle and bustle seemed to be muted by the snow and everything looked unusually clean. There were no dirty ditches or bare spots on the lawn. Everything looked soft and smooth under winter's cold spell.

In the park there were children attempting to ski and adults huddled together to keep the cold out.

It was in many ways a true winter wonderland.

A winter wonderland Gabriella was missing as she was still asleep, safely tucked under her thick duvet. As she had no classes that Wednesday she had told herself that on that particular day she would allow herself to sleep in and catch up on some much needed rest.

It was nearly eleven when she finally stirred awake, immediately closing her eyes again the minute they made contact with the bright light streaming through her window.

Groaning she buried her face in her pillow and stretched her body to its full length. Feeling her toes peak out of the duvet she shivered and pulled her knees up towards her chest. She was seriously not a fan of winter. There was just something about it that made getting out of bed in the morning a complete nightmare.

A nightmare no one could escape no matter how hard they tried.

Not even Gabriella Montez.

And it certainly didn't help matters that she really had to pee.

Another fifteen minutes passed before she gave up the internal battle she was having with her brain and bladder. She reluctantly peeled off the duvet and shivered when the cool air hit her bare arms and legs. She quickly realized that picking the cute pj's was a bad move… they provided very little heat.

"Stupid cold," she grumbled as she reached for her robe and slipped on her slippers. The soft fabric felt heavenly against her skin and slowly felt warmth spread through her veins. Whoever invented fluffy robes deserved a medal she thought as she stepped towards her door. Halfway there she passed the calendar and grinned.

December 1st

As soon as she felt a little more human shed pull that drawer open and see what her boyfriend had hidden inside.

- HSM -

Gabriella felt stupid for feeling nervous. It was a small drawer containing an item from her boyfriend; a boyfriend who seemed to know her better than she knew herself at times. That alone made her certain that each and every one of those presents would be beyond perfect; but even knowing that, her hand trembled as she reached for the first drawer and carefully pulled it open.

The first thing she laid eyes on was a small note that had been folded in such a way that it covered whatever else had been hidden inside. Biting her lower lip gently she got a hold of the not and pulled it out. Hidden beneath it were three small gingerbread cookies. Each one had been decorated with frosting and in the center of each there was a word spelled out. Picking them up she placed them in front of her until the phrase was readable.

I LOVE YOU

Gabriella smiled wide as she ran her fingers over the sweet items. How had Troy come up with all of this? That he was imaginative wasn't a secret, but that he was this creative was a surprised even to her. She shook her head slowly before opening the note she had been holding in her hand. The piece of paper had been folded over several times; surely just to spike her curiosity she thought as her fingers worked to reveal the secret message. When the letters finally appeared Gabriella felt hot tears well up in her eyes.

_Because baking with your gave me the courage to kiss you. _

_Sixteen year old Gabriella was nervous. Beyond nervous actually. She was pretty sure that if she let herself she would probably throw up. Her whole body was on edge and it was all because of a boy. A boy she had known from the age of nine. A boy who had found her crying in the schools bathroom when she got her first period. A boy who had helped her with her homework when she broke her arm. _

_Just a boy, her mom constantly reminded her. But Gabriella knew better. He was far from just a boy. He was Troy Bolton, and Gabriella Montez found herself very much attracted to him; attracted in a way a best friend never should be. _

_She didn't know exactly when things had started to change, but she was pretty sure that it had happened sometime during that past summer. For a whole month she had worked as a tutor at a summer school in another state, and when she had finally returned to Albuquerque it felt like a lifetime had passed. Troy had been working late on the day of her homecoming, so instead of only getting a few moments together they two had decided to hang out around Gabriella's pool the following day. _

_That's when things had gotten interesting. _

_The moment Troy had laid eyes on her bikini clad body he had run over and engulfed her in a suffocating hug that had nearly landed them both in the pool. It was a hug that had also left Gabriella with a tingling skin and a racing heart. Every place their bare skin touched seemed to burn when they separated and Gabriella had felt more confused than ever when she finally managed to calm her body down. Not once during their friendship had he evoked such feeling in her and the fact that he did now had scared her. _

_What had been supposed to be a fun day of hanging out had turned into a couple of hours filled with awkwardness. _

_She had been ridiculously conscious of not only the fact that she was wearing a skimpy bikini, but of the fact that a shirtless Troy was suddenly hot in a way he hadn't been hot before. _

_She hadn't known it back then, but that was only the beginning of the awkward moments between them. _

_For a while they had gone on pretending that nothing had changed even though they both knew that it wasn't true. Things had definitely changed, but both avoided talking about it at all costs. _

_That had been the period where they still hung out often and tried…but that had only lasted until Troy had accidently walked in on her half naked. After that they had gotten more and more distant. Still friends, but never seeking each other out or initiating contact. _

_And those were the reasons behind her current nerves. It was December and it had been months since the last time she had been alone with Troy for a substantial length of time. It was something they had come to avoid shortly after that day at the pool, and now the thought alone gave her goose bumps. The fact that the hang out wasn't even voluntarily made her heart beat even faster. _

_The pair had been paired up for a cooking class project and had been tasked to make a gingerbread house from scratch. Gabriella knew that Troy was far from a genius in the kitchen, and seeing as they had to bake, put together and decorate that house, they had decided to use that Saturday as their project day. What they hadn't known at the time the decision was made was that Gabriella's mom would be working late that day, meaning they had the entire house to themselves. A thought that both trilled and terrified Gabriella at the same time. _

_She knew very well what _she_ dreamed of happening between them, the problem was that she had no idea what _he _wanted. For all she knew he couldn't want nothing from her at all anymore, andthat was a thought that scared her more than any other. He had been a part of her life for so long, the mere thought of him disappearing made tears well up in her eyes. _

_Boyfriend of friend, she loved Troy. She loved him enough to suppress her own attraction if it meant getting to keep him. _

_Why did growing up have to complicate things so much, she wondered as she stood up from her bed and headed towards the hall. Things were so much easier when hormones didn't drive her mind and heart crazy. _

"_Stupid boys," she mumbled just as the doorbell rang, making her stop dead in her tracks. _

_It was now or never. _

_The distance from the staircase to the front door suddenly seemed to have tripled in length, and it felt like time slowed down with every step she took. The outline of his body was visible through the frosted glass and she swallowed hard before twisting the doorknob and opening the door. _

_The cold winter air quickly flooded the entryway, making Gabriella shiver in her thin velvet sweats. Troy, who was obviously cold stepped into the warm house without waiting for an invitation and Gabriella closed the door the second he was inside. _

"_Mom gave me this," he said, handing Gabriella the plastic bag he had been holding in one hand. Gabriella smiled at him before peaking inside. Lucille Bolton had, by the looks of it, raided her cupboards and shoved most of the sweets she could find into the bag. _

"_I don't think we'll have trouble decorating the house," Gabriella said. "Your mom even put food colors in here."_

"_Really?" Troy asked as he shrugged off his coat. "Last time I asked mom for that she said we didn't have any."_

"_What on earth would you need food color for?"_

"_Me and Zeke wanted to see if we could use it to highlight Chad's hair while he was sleeping."_

"_No way!" Gabriella exclaimed. For the time being it seemed as if the awkwardness was forgotten she planned on enjoying every second of it. _

"_Way. He passed out during a movie, and well… it's something we've wanted to try every since the girls at school started showing up with highlights," he explained as the two of them walked into the kitchen. _

"_How come I've never heard about this?"_

"_We never managed to do it, and well.. we haven't talked much lately," he said and gently scratched the back of his neck. _

"_Yeah…" she trailed off. The awkwardness was back and absolutely hated it. She hated that she didn't know how to act around him anymore. He had been one of her best friends for years and feeling estranged from his was not something she enjoyed at all. _

"_Should we start baking?" Troy finally said after several minutes of silence. _

"_Yeah," she nodded. "For all we know it could take several tries to get it right."_

"_Yeah….Gabriella?"_

"_Hmm?" _

"_I don't like this awkwardness either," he said and Gabriella smiled softly. _

"_Then we're two." _

"_Can we just…I don't know….pretend that whatever's happened between us didn't happen and just… be us for a while?"_

_Troy looked so vulnerable when their eyes met that she couldn't help but gently bite down on her lower lip._

"_I'd like that," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. _

"_Ok then….so have you ever baked gingerbread before?"_

_The sudden change of tone and topic made Gabriella giggle and she shook her head._

"_Never alone, I've helped mom though."_

"_I've only decorated….and tasted," he admitted bashfully. _

"_Doesn't surprise me."_

"_Hey! I can cook!"_

"_Troy… you can make mac and cheese, and readymade pancake mix."_

"_That's cooking."_

"_Sure it is."_

"_What's with the tone?"_

"_No tone," she giggled. _

"_Sure, sure….just get a bowl," he pouted and Gabriella burst out laughing. For the first time in months she felt like she had her best friend back. _

_- HSM -_

_Batch number three for the gingerbread house was in the oven when Gabriella hoisted herself onto the countertop. If anyone had told her that getting the pieces for the house right would be so hard, she was pretty sure she would have refused doing it when her teacher handed out the assignment. _

_They had followed the recipe, step by step, but the walls had still ended up with anything but straight edges. Either they were all wobbly or what was supposed to be a square looked more like a trapeze. _

"_I swear if this one doesn't turn out right I'm going to the store and buy one of those readymade kits they have," she grumbled as she wiped her brow with a flour covered hand. _

"_Did I hear right or did my ears deceive me? Gabriella Montez is willing to cheat?"_

"_Shut up… I can to math and chemical experiments, but baking… that I apparently cannot do."_

"_I thought baking was just like chemistry?" Troy teased. _

"_So did I…but apparently the results are even more unstable than with chemicals," she pouted, more annoyed at herself for failing the assignment than anything else. _

"_You're cute when you sulk," Troy suddenly said, making Gabriella's head snap up. _

"_What?"_

"_You… I …. Never mind," he said, his hand scratching the back of his neck as a blush crept up his cheeks._

"_Ok…"_

_She tried to suppress the smile that wanted to spread on her lips, she really did, but she just couldn't. He had said she looked cute. He had said she looked cute and then blushed. Maybe there was a chance he was a little bit attracted to her as well. _

"_Are you sure you set the timer?" Troy asked as he visibly smelled the air around them. Gabriella did the same and immediately picked up on the distinct smell of burned cookies that was seeping out of the oven. _

"_Crap!" she exclaimed and jumped off the counter. Reaching for the dishtowel she threw the oven door open and grabbed the trey. With quick movements she pulled it out, but in her haste she had forgotten to fold the dishtowel and the heat from the hot trey seeped through to burn her fingers. _

_She cried out in pain and let go of the hot item, sending slightly burned gingerbread flying across the tiled floor. _

"_Whoa, Ella!" Troy exclaimed, immediately reaching for her arm to pull her towards the sink. Flicking on the cold water he made her hold her throbbing hand still as the coolness swept over the burns. _

"_You ok?" he asked worried. _

_Her only reply was a small whimper as she tried to pull away from the cold water. Her fingers were starting to feel numb and she didn't want them there anymore._

"_It hurts," she almost chocked out. _

"_I know, but you need to hold it there for at least ten minutes or it's no use," he said gently before wiping away a tear that had escaped her eye. Her lower lip quivered as his hand lingered on her cheek, making her skin tingle. She could feel her heart beat speed up, but just as her mind started coming up with scenarios his hand dropped, and she felt disappointment wash over her. Forcing herself to look at him she saw the tell tale signs of nervousness on his face. Whatever it was that was happening between them, she was obviously not the only one feeling it. _

_Several minutes ticked by and Gabriella didn't quite know what to do with herself. _

"_Do you have any Alovera gel or something? That's supposed to help burns," Troy finally said, but his eyes weren't focused on her like before. _

"_I think there's some in the bathroom. In the cupboard." _

"_Ok. I'll see if I can find it. Keep your hand under the water," he said before leaving her alone with her thoughts. What had been a surprisingly carefree day had suddenly turned tense and right at that moment she had no idea what to expect when he came back from the bathroom. _

"_Ella?"_

_Gabriella jumped at his voice and turned her head. _

"_Yeah?" her voice sounded shaky and she cursed her raging hormones for messing with her. _

"_I found the gel… at least I think I did. Can you come in here? The light is better." _

"_Ok. Give me a second," she said, reaching over to turn off the faucet. Her palm felt numb from the cold water and carefully inspected it as she headed towards the downstairs bathroom. The skin was red and sore, but so far she couldn't see any blisters. _

"_Is this what you meant?" Troy asked, holding up a white and green tube. _

"_Uhu."_

"_Good, now let me see." _

_Reluctantly she held her hand out to him and he cradled it gently before squirting some of the cool gel onto the angry skin. A hiss escaped through her clenched teeth and he surprised her when he started to rub his thumb across the top of her fingers in a soothing gesture. _

"_You ok?"_

"_Yeah."_

_She lifted her gaze from her hand and found herself looking straight into his piercing eyes. The two pools of blue had always been like windows to his soul. He was good at hiding his emotions, but to those who knew him his eyes always gave him away. That moment in the bathroom was no different, but what Gabriella saw both thrilled and scared her. Passion seemed to radiate from them and she was so very aware of the fact that he had yet to let go of her hand. _

_Standing there, eyes locked with his, she felt herself tremble. He was looking at her in a way that made her want to run or throw herself into his arms. _

"_You're beautiful…do you know that?" he asked quietly. _

"_I…" _

"_Well you are…and I really want to kiss you right now."_

_Gabriella felt her eyes grow wide. He wanted to what now? _

_Troy didn't give her much time to contemplate his statement thought, because suddenly she felt his breath on her face and her eyelids fluttered closed in anticipation. Never before had a boy kissed her, and she wasn't quite sure what to expect. The only thing she knew was that she was really happy Troy would be her first kiss. _

"_I'm going to count to three…if you don't want me to kiss you you're going to have to stop me….three." _

_Her brain had barely registered his words when she felt her lips being covered by his. _

That had been the first of many kisses she had received from Troy Bolton that day. After that first awkward meeting of lips she had blushed and hidden her face in his neck. Troy on the other hand had chuckled nervously and wrapped his arms around her middle so he could pull her closer.

Gabriella could still remember the conversation that followed their spur of the moment actions in the bathroom. Suddenly the burned cookies had been forgotten, and both had been more interested in finding out what the hell was going on between them.

Troy had been the first one to blurt out that he had thought about kissing her for quite some time, Gabriella had responded by biting her lower lip and shooting him a wide eyed look.

Now, years later, she wasn't quite sure how their lips had met for that second time, but that time around she had responded to the best of her ability, and learned that kissing her best friend was definitely something she could get used to.

The F they had gotten at the project was soon forgotten as she realized what she gained from that night was far more important than a grade could ever be.

**AN: ** And there you have chapter two!

XxxCarolinexxX


	3. December 2nd

_**"All I Want for Christmas"**_** © Nattou; 30.11.10**

**This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon **_**High School Musical,**_** copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and **_**High School Musical 2**_**, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks**

**AN: **Thanks for all your reviews guys!

**December 2nd**

The heated pool water splashed against the tiled edge as Gabriella came to a halt and waited for her friend Amanda to catch up to her. Thursdays had been their pool day for the past semester, and although she could complain when the time to leave the warm apartment came around, she walways felt great after their little workout sessions.

"So let me get this straight," Amanda said, her fingers grabbing a hold of the edge behind them. "Troy made you an advent calendar and filled it with memories?"

"Sort of. I mean I know he made it, but I don't know exactly what he's filled it with, it's not like I've peaked at the other days."

"I don't think I'd be able to stop myself…it's just….its like THE most romantic present ever."

Amanda's eyes had taken on a dreaming shine and Gabriella giggled.

"I know. But he'd be so disappointed if he found out I was cheating. He's obviously put a lot of thought into this whole thing. I don't want to ruin that for him…or for me. It makes every day a little more exciting you know."

"You're like the luckiest girl ever."

"How so?" Gabriella asked.

"You're dating this like dream of a boy that every single girl is jealous of."

"I am pretty lucky aren't I?"

"Hell yeah….I'd kill for a Troy Bolton," Amanda said and Gabriella laughed.

"He's not always perfect Mands, believe me, we've had our mishaps and fights too."

"Somehow I doubt that…I've met him remember…he flat out worships the ground you walk on."

Gabriella blushed at her friend's words and let her head sink below the water's surface.

"Hey! Get back up here!" Amanda exclaimed.

Blowing air out of her nose in an underwater sigh Gabriella used her legs to push her body upwards until she could once again breathe freely.

"Just admit it girl….you're picture perfect together."

"No, we're not. Perfect doesn't exist, and you know, you've only seen us together after we've spent months apart. We're bound to be lovey dovery then," Gabriella smirked.

"Pft, you're still pretty damn lucky."

"Never said I wasn't," Gabriella giggled. "Just said that we've have bumps on the road as well."

"I don't think I've ever heard you yell," Amanda said thoughtfully.

"I don't do it often, but I can. Trust me; I wasn't very happy when Troy read my diary. He got an earful then.

"Troy read your diary?"

"Yep, and told his best friend Chad…I was less than impressed."

Gabriella shook her head at the memory. The whole thing had happened a few months after they had officially started dating. Gabriella had left Troy in her room while she took a shower and he had discovered the book on nightstand. Only later had she learned that not only had he read it, but also consulted Chad on what her had read.

"Oh brother….what did he read? Anything bad?"

"That depends on how you look at it guess. I was absolutely mortified when I found out he'd read about me feeling insecure."

"Insecure? About what?"

"I was sixteen Mands. Troy was my first boyfriends and everything was new and a little scary. I was scared he wouldn't like my body when we got to that point. I hated the thought of having to tell him no because of my period. All that stuff. Looking back it really wasn't that big a deal but when it happened I was ready to decapitate him."

Amanda laughed as she leaned back so she could float on her back.

"Somehow I have real trouble seeing you that mad, but I'm totally seeing why you got mad. How much apologizing did he have to do to get back on your good side?"

"A hell of a lot." Gabriella said before joining her friend in her back floating. "I remember he left me 'I'm sorry' notes in my locker for a week and made a very illegal picnic on the schools roof."

"He didn't?"

"He did. He had chocolate covered strawberries and whatnot." She grinned; remembering just how many times the two of them had had picnics up on that roof.

"And we're back to the perfect issue," Amanda giggled and splashed water in Gabriella's direction, making her squeal.

Not one to back down, Gabriella splashed back and it didn't take long before the two friends were in a giggle infused water fight that lasted until they decided it was time to hit the showers and get back to studying.

-HSM-

Gabriella was almost back at the dorm when she noticed that her long dark tendrils had frozen to ice on the short walk. Shaking her head she pulled her hood up and tucked her cold curls into it as well as she could.

The snow that had fallen the previous day still coated the ground and with every step she took some of the white fluff stuck to her shoes.

Despite her dislike for the cold Gabriella loved snow. The soft white substance made the dirtiest places look clean and peaceful. The town seemed to be bathed in fresh air and nothing looked ugly anymore. It was almost as if they were given a chance to rectify everything that had let to the dirtiness in the first place, though that feeling only lasted until the snow started to meld and all the trash once again became visible.

A cold gust of wind danced along the path and Gabriella shivered when it hit her square in the chest. If the temperatures were going to continue sinking, she was going to have to buy a new jacked, she thought just as she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.

With quick fingers she snatched it up and smiled when she saw Troy's name flashing on the screen.

"Hey, Wildcat," she greeted.

"_Hey, Beautiful, how was swimming today?" _

"It was good. Me and Mands got into the biggest splash war ever though." She giggles, stepping around a patch of ice as she walked towards the dorms.

"_Splash war?" _

"Uh huh, so much fun."

"_How on earth did laps in the pool turn into a splash war?" _Troy chuckled.

"I told her about the calendar, and somehow the 'he is perfect' discussion turned into a splash war of epic proportions."

"_So I'm perfect am I?" _

Gabriella could practically see the cocky look, she was certain, graces his face, and felt her lips curve into a smile.

"No… but pretty close to it when you do stuff like this."

Troy scoffed playfully. "_Pft, how come I'm not perfect, Ella?"_

"Because no one is, Wildcat, at least not all the time."

"_You're pretty perfect," _he replied, making Gabriella blush slightly. Her boyfriend could be a complete cheese ball, and despite having been around it for years it made her heart flutter. Troy might be cheesy, but she also knew that he meant most of what he said.

"No I'm not… but thanks," she smiled. "My calendar is perfect though."

"_Yeah? It's not silly?"_

"Silly? Troy! It's the most thoughtful present ever, and I absolutely love it! that's what started the whole 'he's perfect' conversation earlier."

"_Seriously?"_

"Yeah."

"_Well, I'm glad you like it,"_ He said quietly after a few seconds of silence, and she just knew that his hand had found its way to his neck where it would be scratching somewhat nervously.

"I do, Troy. I love it. I still can't believe you did something like that… makes a girl feel very special."

"_You are special, Ella, that's why I did it." _he said softly, his voice sounding nearly timid in her ears. _"I love you, and you deserve to be reminded of that every day. That's why I chose to do it with memories. I don't easily forget the moments between us, whether they are funny, romantic or sad. You'll always be what's most important to me." _

His little speech caught her off guard and she felt her lip quiver as hot tears pooled in her eyes. She really was a lucky girl. Not many boys were like Troy, and she thanked the heavens that he was hers.

"I love you," she whispered. "I love you so much I don't even know where to start."

Her dorm room was only a few feet away now and she pulled her keys out of her pocket to unlock the door.

"_That right there will do," _Troy answered, and she could almost heard the smile she knew was dancing on his lips.

"_Ella?" _

"Hmm?"

"_What are you doing that's so noisy?"_

"Trying to unlock the door," she giggled. "It's cold again, so it needs a little jiggle."

"_Makes sense. Just sounded so loud through the phone."_

"Yeah, sounds like that tend to," she said as she pushed the door open and stepped inside. Once she had closed the door she reached for the message book next to the phone as it had been left open, indicating that Cass had written a message for her. Gabriella frowned in confusion , why had Lucille called her?

"Any particular reason for your mom calling?" she asked curiously.

"_Mom called you?" _

"Uh huh…Cass wrote a message about me having to call her back."

"_I have no idea, babe, she didn't mention it to me this morning."_

"Guess I'm going to have to call her back then. At least I think it's not bad news about you. Unless you're keeping things from me…" she teased playfully.

"_Ha Ha. No. I'm fine, just waiting for this lecture to start. We're supposed to get some final pointers to our exam."_

"Ugh, exams….I'm going to be soooo happy when those are finally over."

"_Me too! Because it means you're coming home, and we can do anything we want, whenever we want. No more phone calls like these."_

"It's going to be heavenly!" Gabriella said as she heard people hustling around Troy.

"_The professors here, baby, I've got to go."_

"Ok, call me later?"

"_Always. Love you."_

"Love you, too."

The sound of the dial tone reached her ears and she snapped her phone shut before putting it in her bag.

Calling Lucille could wait. She wanted to open her Christmas calendar first. The drawer marked nr 2 is important chores out of the way, she padded towards her bedroom and closed the door behind her. The calendar stood on the corner of her desk and after dropping her bag on the floor she sat down in her desk chair and pulled the red box towards her. Biting her lip she pulled out the second drawer and picked up the note, which was red this time, she noticed, to reveal a very small toy umbrella.

Furrowing her brows she tried to remember how on earth that was connected to their relationship. Coming up with nothing she quickly unfolded the little not to read Troy's clue.

_Because I made you skip school, wait in the rain and get busted by my father. _

Gabriella closed her eyes in realization, as it became clear to her what he was referring to. He had made her skip school a few times, but he hadn't made her wait in the rain many times… and busted by his father… there was only one time all things had happened at once. It was a moment that had left her embarrassed for days.

_Gabriella couldn't believe she had talked her into skipping school simply because they had ended up running late because his diseased car had decided to stop and refused to start again until ten minutes after the bell had rung. _

_The rain that had only been drizzling when they had set off to school was now hammering down on the cars roof, making Gabriella shiver in her dress. Why she had put on a dress in the first place was a mystery even to her at that moment. _

"_Cold, baby?" Troy asked and placed his hand on her thigh. _

"_Mhm, a little."_

"_Almost home now. I'd turn on the heat, but I'm not sure the truck will agree with that," he said, making a giggle escape Gabriella. She didn't doubt him for a single second. His truck really lived a life of its own, and if you did something unexpected to it, it had tendency of breaking down. _

"_Don't worry. I'm not cold enough to risk having to walk home."_

"_Don't diss my truck, Ella."_

"_You did it before I did!"_

"_But I'm allowed to, it's mine," he grinned, causing Gabriella to roll her eyes. She would never understand boys and their toys. Not that she was sure she actually wanted to understand that part of them. _

"_Next you'll tell me I'm hurting his feelings."_

"_Who said it was a he?" Troy teased and Gabriella hit him across the chest. _

"_Hey! No abusing the driver!"he exclaimed with a laugh. _

"_Stop teasing or I'll go straight home."_

"_You wouldn't?" he gasped as he turned onto their street. _

"_Wouldn't I?" she asked. A sly smile dancing on her lips. _

"_Oh now you're just teasing me."_

_Giggles threatened to escape Gabriella as she looked at his put upon face. She loved this mood where every other sentence let to flirting and teasing, and both knew the other one was just fooling around. The fact that they at that particular moment were supposed to be in homeroom just made the prospect of alone time all that more thrilling. _

_In general Gabriella was one to follow rules. She didn't usually skip school, and she certainly didn't skip school with her boyfriend of nearly two years. Until that moment that was. An excited trail of goose bumps traveled down her spine at the thought and she bit her lip. The things Troy managed to talk her into. _

"_What's going on in that pretty head of yours? You look like you're a thousand miles away," Troy suddenly asked, making Gabriella jump slightly. _

"_Just thinking about the fact that you talking me into skipping school."_

"_Ah yes, have to admit I'm impressed with myself for that."_

"_Don't push it or I'll change my mind," she warned in a teasing tone. _

"_Sorry, babe, but there's no way I'm letting you do that."_

"_What are you going to do? Hold me hostage?" _

_Despite her pretend annoyance she felt her heart rate speed up slightly at the images that scenario put in her head. _

"_You know I would," he winked and Gabriella blushed. _

_There wasn't a doubt in her mind that he would do just that, but she was also certain she would have absolutely nothing against being held hostage by Troy Bolton at his empty house… or specifically in his room. _

"_From the looks of it schools the furthest thing on your mind," he stated. _

"_Shut up."_

_Troy laughed out loud at her response, making her pout. She hated when he was right. Especially when he was right about something that was so wrong. _

_Closing her eyes she tried to force the less than innocent thoughts out of her head. A task which probed to be pretty much impossible when she felt his large, warm hand squeeze the bare skin of her thigh. It wasn't a particularly teasing move, just his way of letting her know he was just playing with her, but paired with her mental images she already had in her mind, it was enough to make goose bumps appear down her leg. _

_Sometimes she really hated the power he had over her. They way he could make her melt simply by looking at her, or the way her heart jumped when her name left her mouth in one of those raspy breaths of his. _

_She was absolutely powerless when it came to him, not that he was ever forceful with her. Far from it. she just had no will to let herself not be affected by the things he said or did to her. _

"_El? You know I'm just teasing right?" Troy asked, his voice laced with something resembling regret. _

"_Huh?" Gabriella asked confused. _

"_What on earth is on your mind, baby? I seriously thought I had offended you there," he said, making Gabriella turn her head to look at him, an embarrassed smile playing on her lips. Instead of answering she bit her lip and cast her eyes downwards. _

"_That look does nothing but spike my curiosity you know."_

_The words left his mouth just as he slowed the car down and turned into his driveway. _

"_What I was thinking about…. Is for me to know… and for you to find out….if you play your cards right." She grinned teasingly and he groaned. _

"_You are an evil woman Gabriella Montez. _

"_I'm not ev…" _

_A loud thunderclap interrupted her midsentence and Troy chuckled at the startled look on her face. _

"_Come on, you, lets het you inside before this weather gets any worse."_

"_I don't think it _can _get worse, Troy. We'll be soaked by the time we reach the door."_

"_Good thing there's a drawer of you things in my room then," he winked. Simply rolling her eyes at him she reached for her bag and prepared herself to step into the rain. _

_With the kind of mood they were in she really didn't know what to expect from this little adventure. Not a single scenario seemed out of the question and it filled her with a kind of excited anxiousness that bubbled through her veins as she opened the car door. _

_She had been right when she said they would get soaked. The short walk to the door had made her dress cling to her small frame and she shivered as Troy fumbled with his keys. _

"_Fuck!" he suddenly exclaimed, making Gabriella jump. _

"_What…" she asked startled. _

"_Grandma has my key…she was house sitting this weekend.."_

"_You have GOT to be kidding me….Troy!" she exclaimed exasperated and smacked his arm hard. _

"_Don't worry. We'll get inside… somehow."_

"_You better think fast, because I'm absolutely freezing!" _

"_I know, baby, I'm sorry… just…just stay here. I'll find a way of getting in."_

_She could clearly see the determination in his eyes, and as colds and annoyed as she was, she really didn't want him to do anything stupid. _

"_Troy…"_

"_Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."_

_With that he stepped out of sheltered porch and ran towards the backyard. Gabriella wasn't sure she even wanted to know what he had planned, but she had a feeling it had something to do with windows… and possibly trees or ladders. She shook her head gently and tried to think of someplace warm. Why oh why had she decided to put on a dress? _

_Shaking her head at her own stupidity she wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to keep at least some of her body-heat. _

_Several minutes passed and the weather showed no signs of clearing up. The wind seemed to want to pull her in several directions at once and she shivered as the wet fabric of her dress slapped against her skin. _

_Where the hell was Troy?_

_Her teeth clattered as another gust of wind twirled around her. _

_That's when she heard the deadbolt open and she practically flung herself at the door. _

"_Whoa there babe!" Troy exclaimed as she fell into his arms. _

"_Cold," she mumbled. "So cold."_

"_I know. I'm sorry."_

_Using his foot to close the door he pulled her further into the house. _

"_I started filling the Jacuzzi upstairs…"_

"_Oh my god… that sounds like heaven," she signed, making the boy next to her chuckle. _

"_God you're soaked."_

"_Could say the same thing about you."_

"_Well, let's do something about that. Come on, gorgeous." _

_With that he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the stairs. _

"_You planned this just to get me naked didn't you?" Gabriella mumbled and Troy laughed out loud. _

"_No, sometimes luck is just on my side," he grinned, making her roll her eyes. _

_- HSM -_

_The mirror in the bathroom was completely fogged up as the two teenagers relaxed in the steaming water. Gabriella was reclined between Troy's legs, her head resting against his shoulders. the jets in the water had been turned off and the only sound that could be heard was the quiet lapping of the water as it hit the inside of the tub when either of them moved. _

"_You're not falling asleep on me are you?" he asked quietly, his voice hoarse from being silent for so long. _

"_Hmm…"_

"_You falling asleep on me?"_

"_Almost."_

"_Maybe we should get out before we turn into raisins."_

"_Nah… so comfy." _

"_So you'd rather be a comfy raisin that a comfy girl with hot chocolate?"_

"_Chocolate?" she perked up. _

"_Sure… THAT gets your attention," he chuckled. _

"_Mhm, it's heaven in a cup." _

"_You say you'd rather have chocolate than me?"_

"_You never offered yourself Troy," she winked and he groaned. _

"_Right, up we go. Up, up, up!" he chanted while pushing her upwards. Gabriella laughed and reached for one of the towels he had laid out for them. Wrapping it around her body she stepped out of the tub and used a hand to wipe away the fog on the mirror. _

_Her dark tresses clung to her head and she scrunched up her nose in distaste as she heard Troy step out of the water. She could feel his eyes on her and wasn't the least bit surprised when she felt his arms wrap around her waist. _

"_You look cute when you do that," he mumbled against the skin on her shoulder. _

"_When I do what?"_

"_Wrinkle your nose like that."_

"_No I don't," she giggled. _

"_Oh, but you do." _

"_Char…"_

"TROY ALEXANDER BOLTON!"

_Jack Bolton's angry voice cut her off and made her eyes widen in fear. She got along well with both his parents, but having him find her dressed in a towel and wrapped in his sons arms was FAR from her idea of fun. _

"_Fuck," Troy said as he released and reached for the clothes he had put on the floor. _

"I'm going to be up there in three minutes, the two of you better be fully dressed by then!"

_Gabriella could clearly see the panic in her eyes as she looked at herself in the mirror and nearly jumped when Troy nudged some dry sweats into her arms. _

"_Troy…" her voice was meek and her eyes pleading as she turned around to look at him. _

"_It'll be ok," he said and softly caressed her cheek. "I'll deal with him. Just get dressed."_

"_Ok…"_

_- HSM -_

Troy had dealt with his father that day. He had fabricated some lie about needing to pick up an assignment he had forgotten and then told the truth about why they ended up in the bathroom. Jack had actually agreed that they couldn't return to school in soaking clothes and freezing cold, so neither one had received any form of punishment from their parents. For Gabriella it was punishment enough to have to face Jack. She remembered it had taken her weeks before she was able to look him in the eye. The mere fact that he had suggested that they had snuck of to have sec embarrassed her, and it certainly didn't help matters when he found the tub filled. ¨

Giggling at the memory she pinned the note to her notice board next to the one from the previous day. She glanced at the calendar again and felt her fingers itch to open the next drawer. Quickly shaking her head she went in search of her phone instead.

Time to call Lucille back and find out what she wanted.

- HSM -

Several hours later Gabriella padded from the bathroom with her pink toothbrush in her mouth. Her clothes had been swapped with purple pj pants and a blue tank top, and her long dark curls had been pulled into a high ponytail.

A yawn escaped her as she walked past Cassidy who was watching some random TV show whilst cuddled under a blanket.

"Long day, huh?" Cassidy asked.

"Too much law. I'll be so happy once exams are over and I won't have to study for a couple of months."

"Definitely. You're going back to Albuquerque the minute we're let out aren't you?"

"Yeah, though I have a feeling they're up to something down there… Troy's mom wondered if I had a snowsuit today."

"That's what she wanted to know? That's random."

"Very. She was so cryptic. Guess I'll find out some way or another. Troy usually suck at keeping things secret."

"Just bat your eyes at him and I'm sure he'll give in."

Gabriella giggled and rolled her eyes.

"Something like that," she said before another yawn escaped her.

"Shoo. Off to bed with you. You're making me tired," Cassidy teased.

"I' m going, I'm going," Gabriella laughed as she headed for her bedroom.

"Night, Cass."

"Night!"

**AN: **Please let me know what you think :)


	4. December 3rd

_**"All I Want for Christmas"**_** © Nattou; 30.11.10**

**This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon **_**High School Musical,**_** copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and **_**High School Musical 2**_**, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks**

**AN: **Happy December 3rd. Thanks for all your sweet reviews xxx

**December 3rd**

"Gabriella!"

Gabriella shot up in bed at the sound of her frantic friends voice.

"What? What's wrong, Cass?" she asked confused as she rubbed her eyes. Cassidy had moved over to the window by the time Gabriella managed to focus her eyes properly.

"I sure as hell hope you have nothing special planned for today because chances are very slim you'll be able to do it."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"Come and have a look for yourself."

With furrowed eyebrows Gabriella reluctantly rolled out of bed and walked over to the spot Cassidy occupied.

"What's so spec….oh my god."

Gabriella's eyes widened as she took In the sight in front of her. The snow that had started falling the previous afternoon had obviously continued through the night, as it not only covered the ground, but reached almost all the way up to her windowpane.

"Wow…"

"You can say that again. The whole area is freaking out. It's literally impossible for many to get to their jobs. It's complete chaos."

"I've never seen so much snow in my life. "

"Me either….nor has anyone else around here I think. On the news they said it was almost 70 years since the last time anything like this happened."

"It doesn't look real," Gabriella said as she let her eyes roam across the snow covered area. The whole place had an almost ghost like feeling to it as there was not on single footprint to be seen.

"I know right. I sure hope there's some food here….god knows how long it will take to clear a path to the dining hall."

Gabriella froze in her spot. It was evident Cassidy had been awake quite a bit longer as her head was already starting to think of the practical issues. Such as the food situation, or well the lack of food.

"There's left over pizza from yesterday…but other than that I haven't bought much of anything lately."

"Me either…"

"Crap!" they exclaimed simultaneously before heading for the small kitchenette area where they stored their snacks and had their microwave and mini fridge.

"Popcorn?" Cassidy asked as she rummaged around.

"Better than nothing."

"Cup a'soup?"

"Save that."

"Poptarts? Two packs."

"Yes, please," Gabriella said and held out her hand. Handing over the box Cassidy reached to plug in the small toaster.

"Our survival instincts obviously suck if that's all we have," Cassidy said with slightly furrowed brows.

"Yeah…we have chocolate too… and soda, and OH! I have a bag of chips."

"Nice! At least we have water in the bathroom, so we won't die of dehydration."

"I highly doubt we'll suffer that much," Gabriella giggled. "Might get hungry though."

"I've never been snowed in," Cassidy said as she placed two poptarts in the toaster.

"Me either. I just hope the power will stay on. If it doesn't we'll get very cold."

"Man! I didn't even think of that. Should we find flashlights and candles just in case?"

"I don't know about you… but I don't own a flashlight," Gabriella said with a small laugh.

"Me neither actually…but I do have candles."

"So do I."

Just then the toaster decided their poptarts were done and nearly flung them out. The sound from the spring made both girls jump, and Gabriella's melodious giggles floated through the air as she reached for two napkins. Wrapping one of the tasty treats in the white piece of paper she handed that one to Cassidy and grabbed the other one for herself.

"I'm just going to make sure I have candles in my candlesticks and give Troy a call. He'll probably see the chaos on TV and get all worried."

"Don't doubt that. I'll go check my stuff too and then head out in the hall to do some investigation. Maybe there are some notices on the notice boards."

"Sounds like a plan," Gabriella said before heading for her room. The smell of the hot poptart teased her nostrils and she took a careful bite as she sat down on the bed and used the other arm to pull the comforter around her.

Two of her candlesticks were placed on her desk and she made a mental note to put a lighter next to them should the power go out.

Desk.

Calendar.

Glancing at her alarm clock she decided it was too early to call him. But it wasn't too early to open another drawer. So she eased out of bed with a small smile and reached for that tempting third drawer. Pulling it out completely she crept under the covers again and settled against her pillows.

Picking up the note she found a small charm for her bracelet resting on a bed of cotton wool.

A charm shaped as violin.

With careful fingers Gabriella picked it up and ran her thumb over the intricate details. Troy was the only one that truly knew about that side of her, knew how much the music meant.

Smiling to herself she reached over to her nightstand and grabbed the charm bracelet she had received several years earlier. She located a vacant spot and quickly clipped the violin onto the chain. It danced back and forth a few times before she placed it on the mattress next to her.

Time to read the note.

_Because I know how much that talent show challenged you_

The talent show.

Oh how she had wanted to just run of and not come back when she found her name on that list.

_Gabriella stared at the list in front of her in disbelief. She had NOT written her name on that piece of paper. She did not WANT her name on it, because well…she didn't want to be in the talent show. All her friends were aware of that fact too, so who could have signed her up. _

"_Good luck going up against _me,_ Montez," a shrill voice suddenly said behind her and all the pieces suddenly fell into place. _

_Sharpay Evans. _

_Of course it had been Sharpay's doing. _

_No one else would be that mean. _

"_Earth to Montez, didn't you hear me?"_

"_I heard you, Shar. I just chose not to acknowledge you."_

"_I… hmpf!" she huffed before stomping off, leaving Gabriella with clenched fists and furious eyes. _

"_Spoiled, inconsiderate bitch," she muttered under her breath, not aware of the fact that a pair of blue eyes were watching her intently. Talking a few shaky breaths to calm herself, she closed her eyes her eyes before turning around. _

_As she opened them she was not met with the sight she expected. She had been prepared to face a deserted hallway, instead she found herself face to face with a rather worried looking Troy Bolton. _

"_What did she do to you," he asked quietly as he reached for one of her hands. _

"_She signed me up."_

"_Signed you up for what? The musical?"_

"_No… the talent show."_

_Troy raised an eyebrow. _

"_But she knows you hate showing off…"_

"_Exactly."_

"_You don't think it's because…"_

_She didn't let him finish. "I know that's why."_

"_But I never even liked her! How can she go after you when she would never have gotten me?"_

"_Because she cant see that you didn't like her. Sharpay sees and believes what she wants to, just like she sees herself winning and me looking like a fool…" she said and averted her eyes. She hated being on display, the thought alone was enough to make nervous butterflies appear in her stomach and angry tears shimmer in eyes. Having all eyes on her just made her feel extremely vulnerable and she absolutely hated it. _

"_You won't look like a fool, Gabriella," Gabriella said in an attempt to make her change her view on the situation. _

"_Troy…" she knew what he was doing, but she also knew he was wrong. She hated performing. _

"_You won't, babe."_

"_How do you know that? You know I don't like that stage much."_

"_I do, but I also know of a talent very few of the others know you have. Sharpay is one of the clueless ones."_

"_If you're talking about singing I'll let you know right now that that won't happen. Ever." _

"_I'm not talking about singing. Loads of people know you sing."_

"_Then what are you… violin? You think I should play THAT for the show?" she asked in disbelief. _

"_Yes I do. It's something no one is going to expect, and you're extremely good at it."_

"_But…no- one's going to be impressed by that… generally classical music is viewed as dull by the majority in our age group."_

_His eyes softened as he let his arms wrap around her waist to pull her close. _

"_You've got it all wrong babe, most people will be impressed, and I know for a fact that you know pieces that people will know. Your 'Lord of the Rings' stuff is amazing." _

_Gabriella stiffened in surprise. _

"_How do you know I can play that? I never showed you that…"_

_Troy merely winked at her, making her roll her eyes. She really did have to think about just where in her room she changed from now on, not that he hadn't already seen her naked, but apparently his sneaking around was worse than she first thought. _

"_I'll think about it." She finally said as she felt Troy kiss the top of her head. _

"_You do that, but Ella, don't let her get you down. That's what she wants."_

_Gabriella closed her eyes and let her head rest against his shoulder. Sharpay did want her to fail. She wanted her to fail so badly Troy would dump her due to the shame, and proceed to run into her open arms. _

"_How can she be so mean, Troy? How can she just ignore people's feelings like that? I just don't understand her. I don't understand her at all."_

_She heard Troy sigh silently by her ear and snuggled further into his embrace._

"_I don't know. I guess it's like you said. In her world she's the only one worthy paying attention to, everyone else should blindly follow her little commands…at least that's what I think she wants. Very few people actually do though, just Ryan and the Sharpettes."_

"_It IS kind of funny how she thinks she rules the school, but no-one really cares."_

"_That's just it, babe. No-one cares. No-one cares about her elaborate numbers, which is why I think you could win this whole thing. After her you'll be a breath of fresh air, plus, everyone likes you," he grinned before placing a kiss on her lips. _

"_If I remember how to play. Stupid rules that say you can't remove your name once it's on," she muttered. _

"_You'll do great."_

"_You sound so sure I almost believe you."_

"_Good. You should."_

_With that he let all of her go but her hand and pulled her in the direction of her entrance._

_-HSM-_

_Gabriella's hands were shaking. The talent show was set for start in an hour and all she wanted to do was find some secluded place to hide until it was all over. Well… in all honesty that was exactly what she had done. She was currently sat on the bench on the schools roof with her knees pulled up under her chin. The wind was dancing around in her hair, but she was far too deep in thought to be bothered by it. She knew it was only a matter of time before Troy figure out where she had run off to during their free period, and would no doubt be coming up to join her. _

_Those participating in the show were supposed to use the time off for practicing, but her violin was still neatly tucked into its case where it had stayed since the previous night. She had picked a piece she already knew by heart, but she was still nervous. The shaking of her hands was more than enough to mess up the song and she willed them to stop. _

"_Should have known you would be up here."_

_Gabriella was far from surprised to hear his voice. She merely lifted her eyes to meet his and shrugged her shoulders. _

"_You really don't want to do this do you?" he asked as he sat down next to her. _

"_No…I would love to actually impress them all, but I just can't make myself believe that I'm capable of doing that. I'm scared ill make a fool out of myself. I didn't even like recitals when I was little."_

"_You do decathlons though. How are they any different, babe?"_

_She bit her lip. How _were_ they different? Both involved doing something in front of people. Showing off something she had learned. During a decathlon it didn't matter if her hand shook though. That mattered greatly when playing. If her fingers slipped just a little bit she would be off key, if that happened when she wrote she'd just have a sloppy letter. The biggest difference however, was that when playing she was alone. During a decathlon she had her entire team with her. _

"_I'm not on my own there. If I mess up my song it's no one's fault but my own."_

"_Everyone makes mistakes, Ella. It's not the end of the world. One sour note won't make a difference. It's the overall impression that's important."_

"_But it's important to me, Troy. _I_ want to play perfect. I don't want to mess up for _me."

_Troy smiled. "That's a totally different thing then."_

"_What?" she asked, surprise etched in her voice. _

"_You're more scared of your own critic than anyone else's."_

_Gabriella looked at him wide eyed. _

"_I…"_

"_You've always been your own worst critic. No matter how well you've done something you always find a way of faulting yourself. So I actually think it's you you're scared of. Am I right?"_

"_I…I don't know."_

_Was he really right? Maybe she wasn't scared of the crowd. She had after all always been her own person. She didn't change because who she was wasn't in. when she thought about it like that it didn't really make sense that she would be scared of what they thought of her. _

"_Maybe," she whispered. "But I don't understand why."_

_Her chin still rested on the top of her knees and her eyes were focused on a spot on the floor. _

_Next to her she could feel Troy's weight shift as his arm came in contact with her back. _

"_Because you're a perfectionist. You hate not mastering things. Whether it's a complicated math equation or some sport. You told me once that you hated not being in control of a situation. this is a situation you cannot be in control of." He stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and Gabriella looked at him with raised eyebrows. _

_How could he possibly know her better than she knew herself?_

_Troy simply smiled at her before leaning in to connect their lips. The sweet kiss made her tense body relax and she let herself be pulled closer to him. _

"_You'll do great," he whispered against her mouth. "And if you don't you can always blame Sharpay for signing you up in the first place, or maybe for making your violin out of tune." _

_Giggling slightly she looked into his twinkling eyes and pressed her lips against his. _

"_I'll try."_

"_All I'm asking."_

_-HSM-_

Gabriella looked from the note in her hand to a framed picture of herself and Troy.

Her mom had snapped it the day of the talent show. Troy had been right about the whole thing. She _had _actually won that day. Something that had pissed Sharpay off so much she had stomped off the stage while huffing something incomprehensible.

Her plan had so backfired. Not only had Gabriella won, but for the next week everyone had been talking about what a sore loser Sharpay had been.

Gabriella giggled- The trophy she had received still stood proudly on a shelf in her childhood room, and the diploma had been placed inside an album. The whole ordeal seemed like forever ago now, so much had happened, so much has changed. She had no idea what Sharpay was doing, nor did she particularly care. It was strange how a person could go from influencing your life every day, to not matter at all.

Shaking her head slightly she stood up from her bed so she could pin the note next to the others. Three days, three memories… twenty one to go, but only nine days until she was scheduled to go home and see him.

That was one thing she really couldn't wait to do. She had seen him during thanksgiving a couple of weeks ago, but one weekend every couple of months was far too little for her liking.

FAR too little.

Sighing she let her fingers trace the outline of his face in the picture on the desk in front of her. She really couldn't wait to be face to face with him again.

"Gabriella!"

Cassidy's voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she walked over to her door.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have snow appropriate clothes? Some of the other girls are going outside to have a morning without studying. Want to come with us?"

The words tumbled out of the other girls mouth as she dashed around looking for something Gabriella wasn't quite sure what was.

"Uhm… no?" Gabriella practically asked while looking down at her current outfit. The purple pj pants hung low on her hips and the blue tank top had crept up her torso to reveal a small stripe of skin. She really did not feel the need to go outside and get wet. That, and she didn't really have anything appropriate for playing in the snow.

Cassidy laughed at her response.

"Suit yourself. I'm going to go have a look," she said as she slipped on thick socks and wrapped a scarf around her neck.

"You do that, I'll stay here and… study I guess." The words were barely out of her mouth when the sound of her ringing phone reached her ears.

"Or talk on the phone. Got to go get that. Don't drown out there!" she called over her shoulder as she moved swiftly back into her bedroom.

"I won't!" Cassidy replied giggling as Gabriella wrapped her hand around the singing object.

"Hello?"

"_Thank god."_

"What?" Gabriella asked confused. That was not how Troy usually greeted her.

"_Mom dragged me up to watch the news footage from the snow chaos. They said many are without electricity and heat, and that thousands are actually snowed in."_

"Yeah…it's kind of crazy. We have power though, and some of the other girls are going outside so the doors can't be completely blocked off."

"_Man am I glad to hear that. I had images of you all cold in a dark room," _Troy said and she knew from the sound of his voice that he was dead serious.

"You're cute when you get all worried."

"_I'm not cute. I'm very manly."_

"Sure you are," Gabriella giggled as she walked over to her window to see if she could spot Cassidy.

"_I'm serious," _Troy said in mock annoyance.

"So am I."

"_Pft."_

Gabriella couldn't help the laughter that escaped her.

"You're ridiculous," she choked out.

"_Glad you find me amusing," _he chuckled.

"Very much so. Oh my god! Emma just flung a snowball right into Cassidy's face!"

"_Really?" _Troy laughed. _"I'd pay to see that."_

"Uh huh, they're having a war it seems. Man they look so cold."

"_Why aren't you outside with them?"_

"Because I'm cold and don't have any proper clothing to keep my warm and dry out there. So I opted to stay inside and watch."

"_Ok, when you put it like that it sounds like a wise move. I would so be out there though."_

"Oh I don't doubt that. You and Chad would probably be in the middle of drowning each other by now."

Troy laughed that warm laughter she loved so much in response.

"_Probably. Though I'm pretty sure his afro would keep him above the snow."_

"Definitely."

"_So, beautiful. Do you have any plans for the day?"_

"Aside from exam studying? No. How about you?"

"_Pretty much the same as you. I really can't wait for break now. I'm so tired of spending all my time on studying."_

"Right there with you. I just want to have a proper lazy day and do absolutely nothing."

"_We'll do that when you come home. We can order in pizza and not move all day."_

"Sounds like a plan…almost boring though," she laughed and he snorted at her.

"_You come up with a plan then."_

"Nah, movies and pizza sounds good."

"_It's….te…..en" _

Gabriella frowned as Troy's voice was replaced by static.

"I can't hear you," she said as she focused her eyes on the world outside her window again. Show had started to fall in a thick blanket and from the looks of it the wind had picked up, sending white clouds of snow through the air.

"_What?"_

"I can't hear you," she repeated.

"_You're breaking up too."_

"It's probably the snow outside. It just started coming down like crazy."

"_Yeah. Maybe we should end this before the connection breaks completely?"_ Troy suggested and Gabriella nodded to herself.

"Yeah, I'll try and call you later again."

"_Ok, babe. Be careful if you decide to brave the weather."_

"I will. Love you."

"_Love you too, gorgeous."_

"Bye."

"_Bye."_

With that she ended the call and scrunched up her face as the snowflakes kissed the windowpanes. She didn't have anything against snow in general. She loved to play in it with friends, and she had once been somewhat capable of skiing. She just didn't like it when it came down in such large amounts. Releasing a long sigh she padded towards her dresser to find some comfy sweats to wear. If she was going to study all day, she at least wanted to be comfortable. Comfortable and clean, she thought and grabbed her towel. Better shower while they still had lights.

-HSM-

The snow had settled for a slow drizzle by the time Gabriella's clock hit six. One of the university's handymen had worked all day on clearing footpaths between the various buildings with snow blowers, and she was now waiting patiently for her Chinese food to arrive. Cassidy was sprawled out in the recliner with a novel Gabriella hadn't caught the name of, and the radio was playing quietly in the background. Gabriella's law book lay open on her lap, but she was no longer focusing on the words that were written in it. Her eyes felt drained and watery and she closed the book with a loud thud.

In her chair Cassidy jumped up and glanced towards her friend with amusement dancing in her eyes.

"What?" she giggled.

"Sorry," Gabriella said bashfully. "I've just had it for today. If I read one more word law I think I might throw up."

Cassidy laughed.

"That makes two of us…maybe we should just stop and put on a movie or something?"

"Sounds good to me. Anything's better than studying."

"That's settled then. You pick a movie and I'll get some drinks and popcorn."

"Ok," Gabriella said and stood up from the couch. Her legs protested against the sudden weight after being folded up for so long, and her knees almost buckled beneath her.

Shaking her head slightly she waited for the strength to return before she walked over to the shelf containing their DVD's.

"Are you in the mood for anything in particular?" she asked while running her index finger over the various titles.

"Something Disney," Cassidy replied, her head still halfway into the fridge.

"Animated or real?"

"Real."

"Parent trap?"

"Nah…"

"Princess Diaries?"

"Yes! I haven't seen that one in ages."

"Got it," Gabriella said and pulled the DVD off the shelf. A night of giggles sounded very welcome, and what better way than to do it with Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway.

**AN: **Phew… and here I was aiming for short chapters…. This is by far my least favorite chapter so far. I'm not sure why. Please let me know what you think :)

XxxCarolinexxX


	5. December 4th

_**"All I Want for Christmas"**_** © Nattou; 30.11.10**

**This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon **_**High School Musical,**_** copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and **_**High School Musical 2**_**, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks**

**AN: **Thanks for all your reviews guys!

**Chapter 5: December 4th **

There were a few things in life Gabriella tried to avoid. Getting tickets, turns in assignments too late, forget to pay bills were among them. Sadly some things she tried to avoid were unavoidable. Doing Christmas shopping in a crowded mall on a Saturday afternoon was one of those situations.

The mass of people seemed to want to pull her petite body in several different directions at once and she practically forced her way towards the store she wanted to enter. Having seen a Christmas dress she really liked in an online store, she had decided to brave the mall to make sure the the actual store still had the dress in her size as she wanted to try it on.

Outside the snow still lay in thick layers and she silently wondered just how all these people had made it to the mall. Several roads were still in the process of being cleared and people were advised to leave the car at home unless it was an absolute necessity to take it out.

Apparently very few people had listened to that message.

_Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock  
Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring  
Snowing and blowing up bushels of fun  
Now the jingle hop has begun _

Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped into the clothing store. Compared to the busy hallways it was virtually empty and she quickly unbuttoned her coat to regain a somewhat normal body temperature. She would never understand the need to keep malls so insanely hot. Most people inside wore coats so a lower temperature wouldn't make shopping a while lost more comfortable.

"Good afternoon miss, may I help you with anything?" a saleswoman asked kindly as she approached Gabriella.

"Yes, please. I was looking for some of your new arrival Christmas dresses. Could you show me where they are located?"

"Oh yes, we've put them right over here. Follow me," she said and started walking further into the store. Gabriella followed her she was told and took in the various items as she went along. The store was already fully decorated for Christmas and even had its own little section with Christmas themed clothing. They had everything from socks with Santa's to Santa girl outfits for little girls…. and some for the bigger girls.

Gabriella eyed the red and white lingerie with a sly smirk.

Would he, or wouldn't he find that hot?

"Right over there, miss. We put all the Christmas dresses in the corner there so it would be easier to browse. Would you like more assistance or would you be happy looking on your own?" The woman asked, making Gabriella snap back into reality.

"I'll just browse on my own, thanks you," she answered. The saleslady smiled and gave her a small nod before walking towards some other costumers.

As soon as she was out of sight Gabriella walked towards the underwear that had caught her attention. The nightgown, if it could be called that, came complete with a hat and stockings, while the bra and panties would have to be purchased separately.

Biting her lip, Gabriella tried desperately to imagine what Troy's reaction to something like that would be. It wasn't like she hadn't dressed up for him before; she had. But she had never done the Santa theme, nor had he mentioned anything about it. She toyed with the price tag as she tried to think of who she could possibly ask for advice. Even hinting to Troy would ruin any kind of surprise she decided to spring on him. He was far too good at linking things together, and she knew from experience that he didn't let things rest until he had figured them out. Putting her name along with Mrs. Clause would spur his curiosity and it wouldn't take him long to see exactly what she was asking.

Who else besides Troy would know what Troy liked?

She scrunched up her nose. Shouldn't _she _know this stuff?

Deep in thought she let her fingers play with the soft material. The baby doll was a deep red color, not see-through, but sewn in a way that was made for teasing. It tied together with two strings between the breasts, and each string had a little white fluffy ball attached to its end. The underwear itself came in several different varieties; thongs, panties, hot-pants, a little skirt, bikini shaped bra, push up… all with little white fur trimmings.

What was she supposed to pick?

Letting out an annoyed sigh she fished out her phone. Why couldn't they have her more conversations about sexy fantasies….

The phone twirled around in her hand as she mentally went through her contact list. Who the hell would know this…

Chad.

Chad would know this.

Chad would no doubt tease the hell out of her for even asking… but he was her only option.

Gabriella's fingers moved reluctantly as they searched for the number she wanted in her phone list. Finding Chad's number she hesitated slightly before hitting call. He would never let her live this one down.

"_Sup' Gabs?" _the familiar voice answered seconds later and Gabriella couldn't help but smile. She missed Chad and his happy go lucky personality.

"Hi Chad, listen, are you alone?"

"_Uhm, yeah…why?"_ he asked slightly confused.

"So Troy's not with you?"

"_No, miss cryptic. What's up?" _

"I uhm… god I cannot believe I'm going to ask you this."

"_Ask me what? You're not usually this guarded when you ask me things…not that you ask me a lot of questions at all miss genius," _Chad teased and Gabriella groaned.

"Ha Ha Ha, Chad, very funny."

"_Come on, what's bothering you?"_

"I…I'm just going to come out with it ok?"

"_Go for it."_

"Do you…?"

The words tumbled out of her mouth so quickly she was surprised she even managed to get them out without getting completely tongue-tied.

"_Do I what now? girl you've got to slow down. All I caught of that was Troy,"_ he chuckled and Gabriella felt a blush crawl up her neck.

"Please don't make me repeat that…" she pleaded, even though she knew he wasn't joking about not understanding her.

"_But I didn't catch it Gabs… _"

"I just… god why is this so hard… Santa lingerie… yay or nay?"

The cat call that followed her question made her cringe back from the phone.

"_Damn Gabriella…" _

"I take that as a 'yay' ?" she asked shyly as she glanced back down at the baby doll.

"_Hell yeah… he'll love that. Why on earth are you asking me this though?"_

"I didn't know who else to ask! And I didn't know if it was silly or not…"

The warm chuckle that flowed through the earpiece made the embarrassed blush color her cheek as well as her neck.

"_Gabi… any sane guy would find his girl dressed in something skimpy extremely sexy. Now I don't know about you, but this conversation is slightly creeping me out, so I'm going to hang up now."_

Gabriella laughed out loud at his admission and nodded her head despite the fact that he couldn't see what she was doing.

"Me too. Thanks Chad."

"_You're welcome. I assume this is to be kept from Troy?"_

"Yes, please."

"_Lips are sealed."_

"That sounds rather wrong in this context Chad…"

"_Sorry…I'm just going to hang up now. By Gab."_

"Bye, Chad," she giggle before pressing the end button.

Unhooking one of the hangers from the display she desperately hoped Chad was right about this or she was sure to make a fool of herself.

- HSM -

By the time Gabriella dropped her shopping bags on her bedroom floor the sun was on its way down and the temperature outside had dropped considerably. All in all it had been a very successful outing. She had gotten herself a dress for both Christmas and new years, and she had managed to find several little trinkets to be part of Christmas presents. She hated being unorganized, but she just hadn't had the time to do anything because of school. At least things were somewhat falling into place now.

Shrugging of her coat she flung it on the bed went to put her two dresses in the closet. Picking up the bag she looked down at the last remaining item and bit down on her lower lip; her Santa surprise for Troy. Quickly folding the bag over she moved to her dresser and put it in together with her other underwear. She still wasn't sure how she'd go through with that surprise. Despite having been together for so long, her shy side could make its appearance when she was deliberately trying to be seductive.

She shook her head slightly and decided to not dwell on it anymore. She had bought it and she would go through with it. She just had to find the right time to do so.

The last bag she placed directly by her desk, as it was full if items that needed to be wrapped later on. As she stood there her eyes floated to the calendar that had not yet been opened. Her eye twinkles as she sat down in her desk chair and pulled out the drawer marked with number '4'. The small note fell off as the drawer came out and Gabriella quickly realized why. Troy had somehow managed to squeeze a pocket pack of Kleenex into the matchbox, making no room for much else.

Giggling she picked up the note, almost certain she knew exactly what it would say.

_Because I skipped school when you were home sick with pneumonia_

She still remembered just how proud he had looked when he surprised her and announced that he actually had permission to be there.

_Gabriella squeezed her eyes shut as another round of coughs washes over her fragile body. Her chest wheezed and she fought to draw in a proper breath. The feeling of not being able to breathe made her want to cry, but she knew that doing that would only make things worse. _

_Sniffling she glanced at her alarm clock. _

_10.15 _

_She shouldn't even be awake, she thought. She was sick, and her mom had given her strict instructions to relax and try to get as much sleep as she could. The only problem was that she couldn't sleep. She was absolutely exhausted, but sleep just wouldn't come. _

_Letting out a shaky sigh she reached for her remote and hoped there was something decent to watch on TV. A book lay open next to her, but her watery eyes made the letters blurry and she had given up on that idea an hour ago. _

_Three whole days had passed since she had been in school, and she was starting to get bored. Gabriella was the kind of person who was used to doing several projects at once. She was a member of several clubs, and juggled the work load with ease. She was not however, used to not doing anything. Despite lacking the energy to do some school work, she was starting to miss being in school. She missed talking to her friends, and she missed Troy. She really missed Troy. He'd been banned from the house until she was better, and though she knew it was for his own best… she wanted to be snuggled in his arms and feel his hand run through her messy curls. _

_Being sick sucked… but being sick alone sucked even more. _

_- HSM -_

_She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep, but it must have been sometime after snow white met the seven dwarfs, because by the time the evil queen showed up she was pulled out of her dreams by a gentle knock on her balcony door. _

_Squinting her eyes at the rooms bright light, Gabriella rolled over and tried to focus on the source of the sound. She had to blink a few times before her blurry vision recognized the familiar frame that was stood on the other side of the glass. He smiled at her as he rattled the doorknob. It was locked. _

_She sighed as she stretched her back and tried to refrain from falling into another coughing fit. On shaky legs she made it towards the door to flick the lock over. _

"_What are you doing here?" she asked her voice hoarse. Troy didn't answer immediately but pointed to the bed with a stern face before turning around to close the door behind him. Gabriella looked at him with slightly amused eyes as she settled back amongst her pillows. _

"_Will you tell me now?" she asked, her eyes pleading. _

"_Yep! I'm here because I miss you," he announced and she raised her eyebrows in amusement. _

"_And that," a cough interrupted her. "Got you out of school?" the last word was more a drawn out wheeze than a spoken word and she saw Troy's eyes soften as he looked at her. _

"_I'm ok," she said. _

"_You don't sound very ok. Did the antibiotics kick in yet?" he asked as he kicked off his shoes and moved towards her bed. _

"_Mhm, a bit at least. Feeling a little more alert today." _

"_That's good." _

_His hands moved to his belt buckle and Gabriella's eyes grew wide. What the hell was he doing?_

"_Uhm Troy?" _

"_Yeah?"_

"_What's with the removal of pants?"_

"_I figured that if I'm going to snuggle up with you fully clothed… I might pass out from heatstroke," he winked, making her roll her eyes as she scooted a bit further over on her bed. _

"_So are you going to tell me how you got out of school?" _

_The bed shifted under his weight as she wiggled his way under the covers to join her. _

"_Dad said something about being lovesick and not getting anything done. He said he'd let me go only because I had double gym followed by double study. He might have said something more but I was halfway out the door by then."_

_Smiling sweetly she let her head fall to rest on his shoulder as she fought to keep her breathing even. Behind her she felt Troy's cool hand stroke across a bare patch of skin and she shivered involuntarily. _

"_Are you cold, baby?" he asked quietly as he pulled her closer to his chest. _

"_No, just tickled," she sighed while twisting her body so she could rest against him more comfortably. Her throat hurt from talking and when a yawn crept up on her it was evident how wheezy she really was. _

"_Sleep baby girl," Troy soothed and moved a hand to gently stroke her forehead. She knew she was clammy and hot, but he didn't seem to be bothered by it. _

"_Mmm, don't want to." _

"_You have a fever," he noted and she nodded against his chest. "You need to sleep."_

"_You just got here," her voice broke at the last word and a few rough coughs seemed to rattle her body. _

"_Yeah, but it doesn't matter if you're sleeping. I'll just watch TV baby. Sleep, we can talk when you're better." _

_She knew she didn't stand a chance when he moved his other hand to hold one of hers and he let his thumb draw lazy circles on top of her palm. He knew just where to touch to make her drowsy, and she found that tucked against his beating heart it was much easier to fall asleep than when she was all alone. _

_- HSM -_

Gabriella smiled at the memory. Neither knew when he had joined her nap, but they had been told my her mom that she had come home from work and found them both sound asleep in the dim afternoon light. She said she hadn't had the heart to wake them up, so instead she had called Troy's parents and gotten them to come over with an overnight bag as it was obvious he wasn't going anywhere on that specific Friday night.

It wasn't often they had been given permission to have sleepovers without even having to ask, but that specific weekend he had stayed until Sunday night. She had gradually gotten a little better every day, and he had helped her catch up on some of the things she had missed.

Looking back on it Gabriella suddenly felt a pang of longing, not only for Troy; but for that time. Everything had been so simple back then, she realized. The things she would stress about then she now knew weren't as important as she thought they were, and the things she took for granted she wished she had appreciated more.

She let out a sigh and reached for her phone.

_Just opened drawer nr 4 3 miss you_

Hitting send she leaned back and looked around the small room. She didn't mind alone time in there. Far from it. She needed her personal space, but right at that moment she really wouldn't have anything against a pair of strong arms wrapped around her in a cuddle.

Her phone vibrated on her lap.

_Miss you too, baby. Only 8 more days. _

Eight days had never seemed so long, Gabriella thought as she stood up to put the note on her board. So far each of the presents had been a key to unlock a memory they shared. Would it be the same when they were together she wondered. Or would he have something else up his sleeve for those remaining two weeks? After going through all the trouble with making the calendar she really didn't put anything past him.

There was only one way to find out though.

To simply wait and see.


	6. December 5th

_**"All I Want for Christmas"**_** © Nattou; 30.11.10**

**This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon **_**High School Musical,**_** copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and **_**High School Musical 2**_**, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks**

**AN: **Thanks a lot for all your lovely reviews 3 Spurs me on to keep on writing. Up until this moment the chapters were already done, but now ive got to get my ass moving, so if i dont manage one every day... i sincerly appologize. I'll do the best i can, but work is getting crazy so i dont have as much time. **  
**

**December 5****th**

Gabriella had decided years ago that having to set your alarm on a Sunday should be banned. There was just something about waking up to the most annoying sound, on the day of rest nonetheless, which was simply unbearable. So when the high pitched beeping reached her ears on that particular Sunday she groaned out loud as she reached for the alarm clock. She flicked the 'off' switch and placed it back on the nightstand.

But the room was far from silent.

Forcing her eyes open, she tried to determine where the horrendous ringing was coming from. Her phone lay quiet on the mattress next to her, and the sound was far too loud to be coming from Cassidy's room.

That's when she smelled smoke.

She shot up in bed and frantically looked around. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, but she knew that this was not a drill. When they had drills there wasn't smoke.

"Gabriella!" Cassidy shouted as she flung the door open. "We've got to get out! There's a fire further down the hall. The fire department is on its way apparently but having difficulties due to the snow!"

Gabriella's eyes widened and she quickly rolled out of bed. Running towards her closet she grabbed a bag and quickly shoved a few important things into it. She shoved her feet into her boots and pulled on her thick winter coat. She could feel hear heart pounding as she flung the bag over her shoulder and shoved her phone and wallet into her pockets. Halfway out the door she stopped and glanced back at Troy's calendar. Making a split second decision she ran back and picked it up. If something did happen to their dorm she wouldn't forgive herself for simply leaving it behind.

"Cass! Are you ready?" she called as she tried to shift the weight of her bag slightly.

"I'm here! I'm ready! Let's get out of here!"

"This doesn't feel real," Gabriella said as Cassidy turned the door handle. As the door opened a cloud of smoke hit them in the face making them both cough violently.

"That felt real," Cassidy choked out as they stepped into the hallway. The thick smoke made it nearly impossible to see and Gabriella moved on autopilot as she walked towards the door. She could hear several other students in the hall, but she had no way of locating where they were. Cassidy had latched onto her bags strap so they wouldn't lose each other and the slight tugging constantly reminded her that she wasn't alone.

Squinting her eyes, she desperately tried to make out where the door was, but she could barely just make out her own hands. Instead she deliberately set her foot further in front of her than was needed so that she'd feel the door before she walked into it.

When her foot knocked into something solid she quickly shifted the calendar in her hands and fumbled blindly for the handle. Locating it she twisted and pushed hard. Cold clean air washed over them and Gabriella had never been so happy to be outside in freezing weather as she was just then.

The courtyard was chaos to say the least and she wasn't quite sure where she was supposed to walk when most of the ground was still covered in snow reaching her waist.

"Where do we go?" she asked Cassidy, choking on her words as did so.

"Away from here," came her wheezy respond accompanied with a small push against Gabriella back.

Seeing no other option Gabriella stumbled her way through the narrow path the snow blower had cleared for them. In the distance she could hear several sirens and she stopped momentarily to look back at the dorm room building.

Smoke was seeping out through every crack it could find and the reality of the situation hit her. The building was really on fire. It wasn't just a forgotten pan on a stove or a cake burning in the oven. It was a real fire, one that would destroy everything and anything in its path. She bit her lip as she gave it one last glance. They needed to get out of the way so the firemen could do their thing.

"Attention students!"

Gabriella jumped at the sudden loud voice and looked around in the dusk to find the source.

"All evacuated students are to head to the cafeteria where you will be marked as present and get something to eat and drink. All students are to head to the cafeteria! We need to make sure no one is missing!"

"How do we get there fastest?" Gabriella asked as they approached one of the places the different paths crossed ways.

"Left here," Cassidy answered and Gabriella quickly changed course. After a few steps she located the source of the loud voice. One of the many people maintaining the several buildings was stood on the path holding a megaphone.

"You alright girls?" he asked as they came closer and Gabriella simply nodded her head.

"Good. There will be someone to greet you by the entrance and inside there will be someone to keep you updated on what's going on out here."

"Thank you," Gabriella said as he stepped aside to let them pass through. The ground was slippery beneath her feet and though she was desperate to escape the cold air she walked as carefully as she could.

The walk only took them a few minutes and they both breathed a sigh of relief as the door was opened for them.

"Come in, com in, girls," a woman said and they quickly stepped over the threshold and into the warm dining hall.

"I need to cross you off my lists ladies. Names please?"

"Gabriella Montez."

"Cassidy Harris."

"Thank you. Just find yourself a place to sit, and we will keep you posted on what's happening as soon as we get news from the fire department."

"Ok, thank you," Gabriella said before moving further into the room with Cassidy hot on her heels.

"What do you think happens now?" Cassidy asked quietly.

"I don't know…I really don't know…"

Placing her calendar on a vacant table she let her bag slide off her shoulder and onto the ground. Quite a few people had already arrived before them, but the big room was far from crowded, something Gabriella was thankful for as she quite liked a bit of personal space, especially when something bad was happening.

"I think I should call Troy… before he hears something on the news or something. That will freak him out," she suddenly said and Cassidy nodded as she fished out her own phone.

"I have to call my parents too," she said and walked a bit further down the table so that the two conversations wouldn't run into each other.

Gabriella was painfully aware that it was only five in the morning and that Troy would most likely be much less than happy about being woken up this early, she also knew that he would be mad if he found out later on that she hadn't called.

It rang several times before his voice filled her ear.

"_Hello?" _

Sleep was evident in his voice and she instantly felt bad for waking him up.

"Hi…" she said, her voice almost shy.

"_Ella?" _

"Yeah…something kind of happened."

"_Happened? Are you ok?" _He instantly sounded more awake. Smiling somewhat sadly at his concern, Gabriella pulled her feet onto her chair and rested her chin on the top of her knees.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but the dorm…" her voice broke slightly. "It's on fire Troy…the whole buildings on fire."

"_What? Are you serious? Where are you?"_

"Yeah… the fire alarm woke us up… we're in the dining hall, waiting for information. I have no idea what's going to happen with anything. All my books are in there… all my notes… I can't study for exams without that. I don't even know where we're going to sleep… even if the dorm doesn't burn it's bound to be both smoke- and water damaged… and…"

"_Gabriella, baby, please focus on one thing at a time ok?" _Troy interrupted her gently. _"I'm sure the school will organize something for you. Now are you sure you're ok? You're not hurt in any way?"_

"No…I feel a bit wheezy from the smoke, but it's getting better…"

"_Good…that's good."_

"Troy…"

"_Yeah?"_

"I don't like this," she nearly whispered as she twisted her head so her cheek now rested on her raised knee.

"_I know baby, I don't either…" _He sighed. _"I'd come and be with you if I could, you know that right?"_

"Yeah… I just wish you could." Her voice broke again and she felt her eyes prickle with unshed tears. She always missed him, but never as much as she did when something went wrong. She had always run to him when she needed a good old cuddle for comfort, and it killed her that she couldn't get one when she needed it the most.

"_Oh, Ella…"_

"I took your calendar with me," she suddenly said. The comment made him chuckle lovingly.

"_You thought of taking that with you?"_

"Yeah… I didn't want to leave it behind."

"_Maybe you should open it, might take your mind off things for a little while at least," _he suggested. Gabriella smiled slightly to herself and looked over at the item she had grown attached to.

"Now?" she asked softly.

"_Why not? It's the 5__th__ already." _

"Ok," she said as she sat up straighter and reached for the calendar. She twisted it around while looking for number five, but suddenly noticed something else that triggered her curiosity. The numbers stopped at 23.

"Where's 24?" she asked with furrowed brows.

"_With me,"_ Troy stated simply.

"Why?"

"_Because I want to give it to you, and if you found out what it was by accident it would ruin everything."_

"Ruin?"

"_Yes, and no; I won't give you any hints," he chuckled. _

"Mean."

"_No I'm not, I made you smile didn't I?" _

She couldn't deny that. A small smile had in fact crept onto her face.

"Yeah…"

"_Why don't you open the 5__th__ one and see if that makes you smile even more."_

She really wasn't sure what to expect when she pulled out the drawer. It was obvious Troy had thought long and hard about these little memories, and she knew that no matter what she might think the next one would be… he'd probably surprise her.

"Do you remember what you put in for each day?" she asked softly as she picked up the piece of paper.

"_Pretty much."_

"Really?"

"_I wrote it down," _He admitted and Gabriella giggled quietly. Said giggle died abruptly in her throat as she looked down however.

"It's empty," she said surprised.

"_I know. Open the note." _

She did as she was told and nearly laughed out loud at the drawing he had made. He had obviously tried hard, but he had never been a particularly good artist, so the somewhat sloppy picture was far from a masterpiece. She could, however, make out exactly what he had tried to pen down.

Two people in a sleeping bag.

_Gabriella was seriously starting to doubt her own sanity. In some momentarily lapse of judgment she had agreed to join Troy's family on a hiking trip to a local waterfall, a decision she was quickly coming to regret. Her feet hurt and she was sure she was sweating places she was never meant to sweat. _

"_How are you doing, sweetie?" Lucille Bolton asked lovingly from her place in front of Gabriella. _

"_Uh…eh…. I don't know…" she managed to get out between her heavy breaths. "I'm not sure…eh…what to feel like…ah…. At this point…" _

_Lucille laughed quietly with a shake of her head she quickened her steps. _

"_Troy!" she called. _

"_Yeah?"_

"_I think your girlfriend is in need of some assistance." _

_Gabriella looked up in time to see Troy halt his movement so he could wait for her. She felt blood raise to her face as he smiled kindly. Why had she agreed to this? She was far from an outdoorsy person. All she had done so far was slow them all down. _

"_You ok, babe?" he asked as she stopped in front of him. _

"_Just tired," she said. "And my feet really really hurt."_

"_Where?" _

"_Side of my foot and back of my heel..." _

"_Dad?" Troy yelled, making Gabriella jump slightly. _

"_Yeah?"_

"_How much further? I think Ella's feet are blistering." _

_The thought had crossed Gabriella mind as well. She recognized the pain, but was set on finishing the hike before she removed her boots to take a look. The last thing she wanted to be was a wimp who couldn't deal with pain. _

"_It's not that far," Jack Bolton said as he approached them. "How bad is it Gabi?" he asked._

"_I don't know. It hurts pretty badly, but I haven't looked."_

"_Ok, don't take your boots off yet ok? If you do getting them on again will be a pain. The campsite is just over this hill here. Lucille and I can walk ahead and set it up while you two walk at your own pace? How does that sound?"_

_Gabriella smiled in appreciation, and relief. The campsite wasn't far. That meant she could get those horrendous boots off her feet and dip them in the cool clear water of the lake Troy had told her about. _

"_Like a plan," Troy said and grasped Gabriella's hand with his own. Jack nodded at them with a smile before walking off to join Lucille who was waiting a few meters away. The two adults were quickly out of sight, leaving the two teens on their own. They kept on walking, but at a slower pace than before, something Gabriella was very thankful for. Her feet throbbed and she wanted nothing more than to slip her feet out of her shoes and socks, and let her bare toes be caressed by the dark earth. But as appealing as the thought was, she knew it wasn't a good idea as her blisters had most likely already ruptured, making the exposed flesh prone for infections if she let the dirt get into it. _

"_Hey," Troy suddenly said gently as if suddenly aware of just how much pain she was really in. "Are you sure you're alright?" _

_He had stopped and she let her eyes rise to meet his. The sweet concern and protectiveness she found in them made tears well up in her eyes. The physical pain combined with his loving gaze made her feel like breaking down, though she wasn't entirely sure why those two things together had to make her cry, but the first tear fell before she had any chance of stopping it. _

"_Oh baby," he soothed as he pulled her towards his chest and let his one hand stroke the back of her head gently. The backpack she was carrying made it a somewhat awkward hug, but she didn't really care. _

"_We're almost there," he said against the top of her head and she nodded into his shirt. _

"_I'm such a baby," she mumbled. _

"_No, you're not. You just tried a little too hard to be brave. You should have said something when you started feeling the pain. We could have taped you up to prevent it from getting so bad," he said before kissing her forehead sweetly. _

_Gabriella closed her eyes and willed the rest of her tears away. He was being a total sweetheart when it was in reality her own fault she was in pain. _

"_You ready to walk a bit further?" he asked and she nodded. Jack had said it was just over the top of the hill. She could do that. She _had _to do that, she thought as she untangled herself from him. The sooner they got to camp, the sooner she could sit down and let her feet rest. _

_With that in mind she laced their hands together and took another step up the hill. It hurt, but so did standing still. _

"_Let's do it," she finally said and Troy grinned at her while giving her hand a gentle squeeze. _

"_Let's do it," he repeated before taking on the hill by her side. Step by step until they reached camp._

_- HSM -_

_By the time the fire had burned down to glowing bits of coal in the dark night Gabriella was exhausted. The night had been spent cooking food and snacks over the open fire while random stories had been told. So far her favorite had got to be Jacks story of how he had taken a 5 year old Troy fishing only to have the little boy sob when a poor fish had gotten stuck on his hook. Apparently he hadn't realized that when you fished the fish would get injured. Needless to say, he had not been a fan of the concept and he hadn't actually been fishing since that one time. _

"_What are you thinking about?" Troy asked, giving her a little nudge to get her attention. _

"_The fact that you cried when you caught a fish," she giggle and Troy blushed. _

"_You just _had _to tell that story didn't you?" he asked his dad who only chuckled as a reply. _

"_Troy, it's ado-o-o-rable," Gabriella said, a yawn interrupting her last word. This time it was Troy's turn to chuckle. _

"_You tired?" _

"_Mhm." _

"_I think it's time for us all to go to bed," Lucille said and stood up from her seat. "Jack go get some water to kill the embers while I find the kids' sleeping bags." _

_He did as he was told as his wife moved over to the bigger one of the two tents they had put up. Gabriella and Troy had been given their own one as their parents had figured it really didn't give them much privacy to do much else than sleeping. Every word spoken would be heard from the other tent, making breaking the rules much less attempting. _

"_Right. Gabriella, Troy, come over here." _

_Gabriella reluctantly got up and grasped the hand Troy was offering her. She couldn't recall another time in her life where she had been as tired as she was right at that moment. Going to sleep sounded like heaven and she couldn't wait to let her head hit her pillow, or Troy…whichever happened to be more comfy. _

"_Alright, let's see here. This is the air mattress, it's double so you will both fit on it, just use the pump to fill it Troy. It will only take a few minutes. And here are the sleeping bags. Exactly what you do with them is your decision. Use them as blankets, zip them together, or use them separately, it's up to you." _

_Troy gave Gabriella a wink but she merely raised her eyebrows. If he thought she was up for any funny business he was sadly mistaken. 1: she was so tired she had trouble staying upright, 2: his parents could walk in on them at any time. Nope, there wasn't a chance in hell shed be up for more than simple snuggles. _

"_I think you better get pumping, son. I think Gabriella's about to fall asleep on her feet," Jack's voice suddenly said as he approached them with a bucket in hand._

"_I'll be fine," Gabriella said, punctuating her input with a yawn which made them all chuckle. _

"_Come on sleeping beauty," Troy said as he picked up the folded up air mattress and pump, leaving her to grab the two sleeping bags. Too tired to even argue with the assignment she bent down and wrapped her fingers around the cords attached to the sleeping bags covers. Troy was already inside their tent unfolding the mattress and she simply settled for watching him work. _

"_You're not falling asleep on me out there are you?" he asked playfully after a few minutes. _

"_Almost," she answered. The sound of his chuckle reached her ears, but the rustling of the tent did not, and she jumped in her seat when he was suddenly stood in front of her holding out his hand. Blinking dazedly she let him pull her to her feet and guide her into the tent. _

_The inflated mattress took up most of the space, and what little room was left had been filled by their backpacks. _

_Having already changed into sweats earlier in the night, Gabriella let her body collapse onto the makeshift bed. _

"_This is actually comfy," she mumbled, half to herself, half to Troy. _

"_Yeah it's not so bad. So, what do you want to do with the bags?"_

"_Hmm?"_

"_The sleeping bags? Do you want them individual or zipped together?" he asked softly. _

"_I don't know… snuggable," she said simply, making another chuckle escape Troy. _

"_Zipped together it is."_

"_Ok." _

_By the time Troy had gotten things ready Gabriella was half asleep and only partly aware of what was going on around her. The last proper memory she had from that particular night was Troy pulling her close to his chest as they settled into their little cocoon in the middle of nowhere. _

- HSM -

Gabriella smiled at the memory. All in all it had been a good trip, but she had learned her lesson when it came to hiking boots. Never walk far in new ones.

"I still have a scar on my heel you know, "she said lightly.

"_I know. It looks like a little coin."_

"You've seriously noticed that?" Gabriella asked surprised. She knew of most of the scars on Troy's body, but she couldn't say she had ever inspected his feet.

"_Yep, you have one under your left foot as well, but I don't know where that's from. It's right below your big toe."_

"That's a birthmark," Gabriella laughed. "And you seriously need to pay less attention to my feet…"

"_I pay attention to all parts of you," _he said and Gabriella shook her head. His voice was teasing and full of joking, but she knew that he was also dead serious. He _did _know every little crook and cranny of her body. He knew she had a pale birthmark on her lower back and that there was a small patch of skin on her back that didn't tan. He knew what she liked about herself and he knew what she hated. He just knew her.

Smiling to herself she looked up just in time to see the principal walk into the room.

"Troy, someone just came in, I think he has news. I'll call you later ok?"

"_Ok baby, stay safe ok?"_

"I will. Love you."

"_Love you, too." _

"Bye."

Focusing on what happened at the front of the room Gabriella slipped her phone back into her pocket. She wasn't quite sure what kind of news she expected, but anything was better than not knowing.

"Right! Attention Brandford residents! I know you're all distraught right now and worried about what will happen from this point on. For the time being the fire is not yet under control and the fire department has informed us that the entire building will not be habitable even when the fire is out."

"Where are we going to live then?" someone asked loudly.

"A meeting amongst the staff is being called in as we speak. As soon as we have a plan of action we will proceed to inform you. We will organize something for you. You will not be left to fend for yourself without any aid from school. I know this is not ideal for anyone, but at the moment it's the only thing we can do. Now; do any of you have any other questions?"

"What about our exams? All our books and notes are in our dorms?"

"Yes, we know this will be an issue for you, but we have not yet decided just how to deal with that aspect of the situation. Again; we will have more information after the meeting regarding these specific school related areas."

The students fell silent as it was evident they wouldn't get much information yet. Gabriella sighed and toyed with the note she had pulled out of her calendar. It was going to be a long long _long _day.

- HSM -

Their dorm room hadn't survived.

Not one single room was unharmed. The flames had travelled far, and the places that hadn't been exposed to the scorching fire had been damaged by both the heat and the huge amount of water that had been sprayed into the building to tame the wild beast of destruction.

Though the fire was out, the building was strictly off limit. It wasn't considered structurally safe, and in the cold weather the hot bricks seemed to make the air dance.

Gabriella had spent the entire day in the dining hall together with Cassidy and the other people from her building. The teachers had arranged for most of them to stay at nearby hotels and motels, and that was where Gabriella was currently located. No decisions had yet been made about the exam question, but they had all been promised answers the next day.

"I don't know about you," Cassidy said. "But I'm completely beat and ready to call it a night."

"Me too. Sleep sounds good right about now."

"It doesn't feel real does it?"

"No…I think it will take a little while for it to fully sink in. It's almost like some sort of dream…or something you see on TV, but this isn't someone else… it's us."

"I know what you mean… the event feels real, but it doesn't fully feel like it's affected us… even though we're not sleeping at home."

Gabriella nodded.

"I'm sure it will hit us at some point…maybe when we wake up tomorrow."

"Maybe," Cassidy said as she peeled back the covers on the one bed the hotel had offered them. Both girls were already dressed in pj's so without worrying about changing they crawled under the duvet and snuggled into the pillows. It had been a long day of worry, and as Gabriella let her body relax she felt the true extend of her exhaustion wash over her. Falling asleep certainly didn't seem to be an issue just then.

**AN: **Please let me know what you think :)

XxxCarolinexxX


	7. December 6th

_**"All I Want for Christmas"**_** © Nattou; 30.11.10**

**This is a derivate piece of fiction featuring characters copyrighted and trademarked by Disney Enterprises Inc. It is based upon **_**High School Musical,**_** copyright 2006 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved; and **_**High School Musical 2**_**, copyright 2007 by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., all rights reserved. The author is not connected with nor is this work authorised by Walt Disney Enterprises Inc., or any other motion picture studios. This work is solely intended for posting on Fanfiction, for the benefit and enjoyment of its intended audience. No commercial or financial benefit accrues or is intended to accrue to the author as a result of said posting. Any unauthorised copying or redistribution of this work might subject the party responsible for such unauthorized copying or redistribution to legal action by the owners of the aforementioned copyrights and trademarks**

**AN: **You guys rock :D thanks for all your nice reviews!

**December 6th**

Gabriella Montez liked routines.

She liked the everyday structure every day had when certain things had to be done by a certain time.

Nothing, absolutely _nothing _had been normal about the previous day, and she knew that the same could be said for the day ahead.

For starters she had only managed to snatch one outfit from her closet and was now forced to wear either pj's or sweats. Having spent all of Sunday in said pj's her choice wasn't a hard one, just an unusual one.

Taking a deep breath she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was still wet from the shower she had just taken, making the long dark tresses cling to her head and shoulders. Something had to be done to that before she walked outside or both her and her hair would freeze.

"Cass? Is there a hairdryer out there?" she asked through the door.

"Uhm… let me take a look."

Sounds of rummaging traveled into the bathroom as Gabriella dried off her body and pulled on the clean set of clothes. She wrapped her hair in the towel before opening the door so she could help Cassidy look.

"Doesn't look like there is one Gabs," Cassidy said and Gabriella frowned.

"What am I supposed to do with my hair then?" I can't go out with it all wet or it will literally freeze…"

"I can braid it if you want?" she suggested and Gabriella nodded.

"Thanks."

"No problem, just sit down on that chair or something. You're too tall when you stand."

Smiling Gabriella sat down and let Cassidy's skilled fingers untangled her hair from the towel so she could French braid it away from her face.

"What time did they tell us to be at school?" Cassidy asked.

"By 2.15, so we have about 2 hours," Gabriella said just as a hair elastic was wrapped around the end of her braid.

"There. Ok, then I think I'll walk out and see if I can find some snack to eat. Do you want anything?"

"Nah, I'm fine," Gabriella said.

"Ok, I'll be back in a little while."

With that she reached for her coat and disappeared out the door.

Shaking her head slightly Gabriella grabbed the discarded towel and headed for the bathroom so she could hang it up to dry. For several weeks now she had wanted nothing more than to have some time to herself. Time she could use however she wanted. Time that wasn't filled with law books and essay writing. Time with Troy.

She had dreamed about the day she didn't _have _to do something she didn't want to, but now that she _couldn't _do what she knew she needed to do… she couldn't make herself relax. A voice in the back of her head kept telling her she needed to study, but she _couldn't _study. She didn't have the books.

Sighing she wiped the fog off the mirror and took in her own reflection. Despite having slept for more hours than she normally did, she looked tired, and she wished she had had some foundation to help hide the circles under her eyes. She had never been big on makeup, but if the need arose she was definitely all for some cosmetic help.

"Argh," she exclaimed quietly to herself before leaving the bathroom. The sterile hotel room felt far from homey and she felt a sudden wave of homesickness wash over her. Gabriella was the kind of girl who liked the familiar. It usually took time for her to adjust to a new situation, especially when left on her own.

Tears prickled in her eyes as she sat down on the messy bed. If they couldn't live in their dorms, there was nothing she wanted more than to just go home.

Biting her lip she picked up the calendar she had put on the floor. She wasn't sure a trip down memory lane would be the best idea right now, but she wanted to anyways.

The 6th drawer gave no resistance as she pulled it out and lifted the small piece of paper away. Once again the bottom was covered in cotton wool, but this time, instead of a charm there was a pair of what looked to be Barbie shoes.

What on earth.

Moving her gaze from the white shoes to the note in her hand, she unfolded it and let her eyes take in the words written.

_Because you danced barefoot with me under the stars_

_Gabriella was nervous. She wasn't quite sure why she was nervous, but she was. Her palms felt sweaty and a tingly sensation was spreading through her veins at rapid speed. The excitement had been present for several days, but now that the actual date was only a few minutes away she had real trouble sitting still. Not one single clue had Troy given her. He had simply told her to look pretty and to leave the rest to him. _

_Well, she was looking pretty, but was quickly running out of patience as she waited for him to arrive. He had told her to be ready by sven, it was now five to, and she wasn't sure if time had ever moved so slowly before. With some help from her mom, she had managed to tame all her curls in much less time than she anticipated, so for the past twenty minutes she had simply stared into space. _

_The red dress her mom had helped pick out clung perfectly to her small frame, but she still nervously straightened the knee length skirt that flowed beautifully when she moved. _

"_Stop it, Gabriella. You look beautiful," her mother said calmly from her seat on the couch. _

"_What if it's totally wrong for what he's planned?"_

"_Honey, it's never bad to look pretty, the boys mouth is going to drop. You look stunning. Now; please come sit down before you trip over your feet."_

"_I can't help it."_

"_Why are you nervous? You've been on more dates than I can count."_

"_I don't know… something just feels different. He's not usually this secretive and organized. I have no idea what to expect."_

"_Just take it as it comes. I'm sure you'll have a great time."_

_Gabriella knew her mom was right. No matter what happened he would have some sort of plan that would make her feel special and forget about any worries she had ever had. The problem was that until he got there there was nothing stopping her from worrying. She bit on her lower lip as she toyed with the strap on her purse. Why couldn't he just be early for once? _

_Moving to the window she used her index finger to move the thin curtain aside so she got a view of the driveway. What she saw made a confused smile appear on her face. Why was Troy sat in his truck seemingly sleeping? That's what it looked like to her at least. His eyes were closed and his head was resting against the head rest. _

_As if sensing her eyes on him, his eyes suddenly opened and turned to look in her direction. Meeting his gaze she blushed slightly and he winked before opening the car door. _

_A simple smile from him was enough to make her forget all about being worried. _

_-HSM-_

_The road in front of them took another sharp turn and Gabriella reached for the handle on the door to keep from sliding towards Troy. _

"_Where are we going Troy… we're in the middle of nowhere."_

"_I know. That's the point."_

_Gabriella raised her eyebrows at his reply. Had he been anyone else she would probably have been worried by now, but she knew there was no way Troy would ever hurt her. He was far too protective to ever put her in a dangerous situation by choice. _

"_Can you put this on?" Troy asked as he handed her a small piece of cloth. Turning it over in her hands she frowned. _

"_A blindfold? Seriously?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Troy…"_

"_Come on, babe. It'll be worth it. I promise." _

"_The things you make me do," she mumbled as she tried to tie on the blindfold without ruining her hair. The black cloth blocked out most of the fading daylight, but if she looked down towards her nose she could make out parts of her own lap. _

"_It's only for a couple of minutes, we're almost there," he said reassuringly and gave her dress covered thigh a loving squeeze just as they hit an unevenness in the road which made the car rattle. _

"_Is that sound supposed to be there?" she asked somewhat worried. _

"_Don't worry."_

_His voice did not sound very sure and she bit down on her lip. She sure hoped the car wouldn't break down and force them to have their date in the back. She had barely finished her thought before the car came to a stop. It was a gradual stop, which told Gabriella that it was very much intentional. _

"_We're here little worry wart," he teased playfully as he killed the engine. "Don't move or remove the blindfold yet. I'll come and get you."_

_Doing as she was told she sat perfectly still until she heard the door on her side open, and felt Troy's warm hand wrap around her wrist. _

"_Come on, gorgeous. I'll help you step out."_

_She willingly grasped the supporting hands he offered her as she moved on autopilot. She had stepped out of that truck more times than she could remember and her feet seemed to remember just where to step to keep her from tripping. _

_Once her feet were safely on the ground and the car door shut, she felt Troy's arms wrap around her middle from behind. _

"_Have I told you just how beautiful you look tonight?" he asked quietly as he brushed a kiss against the shell of her ear. Gabriella shivered at the sensation and let a content smile creep onto her face. _

"_You might have, but it never hurts to hear it again."_

"_Well, you look really, really, really beautiful."_

_His hands danced around her waist, making her feel all sorts of tingly inside. _

"_Thank you," she whispered sweetly. "Can I take the blindfold off?" _

"_Not yet, we just have to round the corner. I'll help you."_

"_I'm so wearing the wrong shoes for this…" _

"_You really are," he chuckled. _

"_It's your fault… you told me to look pretty, and that was that."_

"_Well you _do _look pretty, but I probably should have told you to wear flats," he said and moved to walk by her side with an arm wrapped around her shoulders for guidance. _

"_Yes, you should," she agreed as she took a tentative step. _

"_It's a footpath, it's not majorly bumpy," he told her. She simply nodded but moved her feet slowly even so. There was just something about not being able to see that made her extremely wary. _

_The short walk took a couple of minutes and a couple of near accidents due to Gabriella's heels, and she was very happy when he informed her that it was time to remove the blindfold. His fingers moved gently as they untied the knot she had made earlier. Having absolutely no idea what to expect she carefully opened her eyes and gasped quietly at the sight in front of her. _

_An old floorless gazebo stood in the small clearing overlooking the city, in the middle there was a table and two chairs. Fairy lights had been strung all around, and though they didn't cast much light in the early evening, she had no doubt they'd look beautiful once the sun set. It was simple, yet elegant and she couldn't believe he had done something like that for them. _

"_Troy…." She whispered. _

"_You like it?"_

"_I love it…it's so beautiful."_

_Troy smiled and interlaced their fingers. The distinct smell of hot lasagna drifted from gazebo and he guided her towards it with gentle steps. Her eyes looked around in awe, as if trying to take it all in at once and he pulled her closer to his body. _

"_Hungry?"_

"_Yeah…I can't believe you did this Troy."_

_Instead of giving her a proper answer he ushered her to her seat and pulled out her chair for her to sit. _

"_Charmer," she smiled. _

"_You know it," he winked and was rewarded with a sweet giggle that seemed to linger in the air for much longer than it normally did. As Gabriella followed his movements with her eyes, she had a feeling that if there was ever a moment where her eyes did the cliché sparkling, that was it. _

_-HSM-_

_The sun had set by the time the pair had cleared their plates, and instead of having desert by the table Troy had surprised her by spreading a thick picnic blanket on the ground. The small radio he had placed near them emitted soft tunes that seemed to cocoon them in their own little world, and she couldn't really think of any other place she'd rather be. Cuddled in his arms she had a perfect view of the city lights in the dark night and she sighed contently as she reached for a chocolate covered strawberry. The sweet treat seemed to melt on her tongue and she savored the taste as she swallowed. _

"_What are you thinking about?" Troy asked quietly as he brushed his fingers over the bare skin of her arm. _

"_How perfect this is," she smiled and tilted her head to look at his face. His features were relaxed as he locked eyes with her and nuzzled her nose with his own. Unable to resist the temptation she craned her neck and softly connected their lips. His response was immediate and she felt herself being pulled closer to him as they shifted positions. _

_In the distance she heard the song on the radio change and she smiled against his lips before breaking the contact. _

"_Dance with me?" she whispered._

"_What?"_

"_Dance with me?" _

"_Here?"_

"_Yeah."_

_His eyes had amusement written in them, but he sat up straight anyways and reached for her hand. _

"_Alright then."_

_A grin spread on her face as she scrambled to her feet and practically dragged him up from the ground. He chuckled softly at her enthusiasm before looking down. _

"_You have no shoes on, babe."_

"_Doesn't matter, they were just in the way."_

_He shook his head slightly as he pulled her close to his body and wrapped his arms around her middle. She bit her lip almost shyly before interlacing her fingers behind his neck. What made her feel the need to dance with him in the middle of the woods, she wasn't quite sure, but as her head came to rest against his chest she really didn't care. Beneath her ear she could feel the steady beat of his heart and she closed her eyes as their feet moved on their own accord. _

"_I love you," she whispered into the night air, and felt his arms tighten around her waist. _

"_I love you, too." _

_His reply got swallowed by her curls, but she still heard him loud and clear. Four small words which she had gotten so used to, yet never tired of hearing. _

_Troy Bolton loved Gabriella Montez and she couldn't be happier. _

_-HSM-_

Several tears had escaped from her eyes by the time she let her brain return to the real world. She hated being apart from him, and she hated that she hadn't appreciated just how lucky she had been back then. She had taken it all for granted in high school. All the dates and little surprises had been part of everyday life back then, and she hadn't realized just how amazing it had been until it had all been taken away from her.

Sniffling she reached for her phone and typed in a quick message.

_I love you_

He wouldn't need more info to know what she wanted to say. He knew her well enough to see where she was coming from, and what she wanted to convey. It was one of the reasons that made it impossible for her to even contemplate lying to him. He would see straight through her. He always did; just like he always saw through her brave faces when she was sad. He just knew her. It was as simple as that.

**AN: **More to come tomorrow :)


	8. December 7th

**All I want for Christmas **

**AN: **So…. Where to start… I had planned on this being finished by Christmas, I really had… but my muse would not cooperate, so here's the deal. There will NOT be updates everyday like I had originally planned, but I'm going to post as I finish. I have worked on getting a bit ahead of things, so hopefully it won't take too long.

I work a lot in December so I won't have that much time to write, but I'll do my best.

I will keep posting chapters until this story is finished even if that means posting after Christmas.

Hope you enjoy

**December 7th **

A long yawn escaped Gabriella as she walked down the aisle of the train looking for her seat. It was barely six in the morning and far too early to be awake in her opinion, but it was the only option if she wanted to make it back to Albuquerque on that specific day. Outside the windows, the world still seemed to be asleep. Not even the sun was awake yet, she thought as another yawn crept up on her.

"45, 46, 47, 48," she mumbled. "50."

Dropping her bags she let herself fall into the seat just as the train slowly started to make its way forward. Aside from her the cart was empty and she felt no need to put her things into the overhead shelf.

"Ticket, miss?"

Glancing up she was met with the less than pleasant face of that morning's ticket inspector, and quickly pulled her ticket out of her pocket. He gave it a short glance before pressing a stamp against it.

"Have a nice trip."

Gabriella could tell the phrase was one of habit, not one of actual care, so she mumbled a simple thank you before snuggling into her seat. The fact that she was actually headed home was a thought she was still trying to process. Her original tickets had been booked for almost a week later, but after being informed that exams were being moved her mom had booked her new ones.

Everything was still kind of a blur if she was honest with herself. The meeting at school had covered so much information she was certain she had missed at least half of it. The extent of the damages was not yet clear as the building was still too hot to enter, but they did not expect that much, if anything could be saved. The students affected by the fire had been given the option of taking exams as planned, or taking them with group that would be re-doing them later in the year, but without it being put as their second attempt.

Gabriella had kind of lost her concentration after hearing that, and she still wasn't sure how she felt about her decision.

She knew very well that she wouldn't do well if she took the exams without studying more, but in some way it upset her that she had spent so many stressful hours cramming for an exam she no longer had to worry about. At least not for the time being.

With a small sigh she leaned her head against the cold window pane and let her eyes follow the landscape outside. It had always fascinated her how so many things changed in the time span of only a few minutes. One minute the roads were practically empty, the next they were bustling with life. A minute could decide whether you got stuck in traffic that morning or not.

The world she was currently watching seemed to still be asleep though. Only every now and then did they pass a street where a car was driving or someone was walking a dog. It was the quiet before the storm, and though she was tired she couldn't deny the fact that she enjoyed the early morning drowsiness that that still cocooned the world around her.

A sudden jerk to the side caused her shoulder to connect painfully with the window and she groaned quietly. They really should put padding on the walls she thought as she sat up straight again. On the seat next to her she noticed her calendar sitting dangerously near the edge and quickly picked it up. The 7th drawer was still hiding its surprise and she knew that a simple tug was all it took to please her ever growing curiosity.

A small smile spread on her face as she let her fingers toy with the tiny handle for a few seconds before slowly pulling it open.

As it came out she felt something shift within and quickly removed the white note.

It was a horseshoe key-chain.

She didn't need a hint to figure that one out, but unfolded the piece of paper anyways.

_Because a school trip to a ranch landed you in the hospital. _

Oh yeah, that was NOT a field trip she would easily forget.

_The school bus seemed to buzz with the sound of excited voices as it made its way along the dusty desert road. The somewhat random field trip was a welcome distraction to the whole class, and Gabriella grinned to herself as she realized just how much the scene around her reminded her of elementary school. _

_Back then field trips had been more common, but the noisy bus ride was always the same. The only major change she could think of was the seating arrangement and the fact that her head was comfortably resting against Troy's shoulder. _

_Snuggling had definitely not been part of their elementary school trips. _

"_What are you thinking about?" Troy asked quietly against her hair. _

"_How I'm half expecting someone to break into a cheesy bus ride song."_

_Troy chuckled at her response and pulled her even closer. _

"_This does feel familiar doesn't it?"_

"_It really does, minus a few seat changes. If I remember correctly Taylor and Chad were much less cuddly back then, rather the opposite actually. Unsupervised they were in danger of clawing out each other's eyes."_

"_Oh my god," Troy laughed. "Do you remember the time the teachers paired them up for a project and Chad accidently put his afro on fire when lighting a match?" _

"_Oh god! And then he emptied his water bottle over his head and spilled water all over the project! She was ready to kill him! With the amount of revenge plans she had I actually feared for his well being for a while," Gabriella giggled while shaking her head. _

"_Who would have thought that seven minutes in heaven would actually end with them kissing…I know we all joked about it, but I never actually thought it would happen. I was half expecting a dead body when we opened that door," Troy said as she glanced to where Taylor was sleeping peacefully against Chad's body. _

"_I've never seen anyone quite as red as Tay turned when she realized we were looking at them," Gabriella giggled. _

"_I have."_

"_You have?"_

"_First time was when your mother first walked in on us making out," he teased and gave her waist a gentle squeeze. _

"_Oh my god….don't even go there," Gabriella said, her eyes wide. _

_Troy simply chuckled. _

"_It wasn't that bad, babe."_

"_Not for you maybe, I got the whole 'no glove, no love' speech after you had gone home," she said with a small shudder. "I was horrified."_

"_My parents were no better. They just happen to behave whenever you are actually around."_

"_Thank god for that," she said as she tilted her head upwards to place a kiss against his jaw. Troy smiled and quickly turned his head to capture her lips gently. _

"_Ahem…"_

"_Dad, come on," Troy groaned. _

"_Rules are rules, Troy," Jack Bolton said somewhat teasingly and Gabriella swore she saw him give her a wink. _

"_There's no-one around who cares."_

"_I'm here."_

"_You see us kissing all the time."_

"_Doesn't mean I like it, now behave, please."_

"_Yes, Mr. Bolton," Gabriella said as a small blush crept onto her face. _

"_I hate when he does that," she mumbled once Jack had moved further down the aisle. Troy simply chuckled at her feeble complaint and pulled her closer. _

"_Sadly I think he takes great pleasure in doing it."_

"_I know he does, he winked at me," she grumbled, causing a laugh to escape from Troy's lips. His chest vibrated underneath her head and she struggled to keep the smile of he own face. As much as she had loved having his dad around for certain situations at school, there were others that really made her wish it would be illegal for parents to be teaches at their children's school. _

_-HSM- _

_By the time lunch rolled around Gabriella's already tan skin had gone a shade darker and Troy's much fairer skin had gotten a reddish tint to it. _

"_I have sun block you know," Gabriella said as they settled down in the shade of a big tree. _

"_But I never get burned, babe, how bad can it be?"_

"_Pretty bad, Troy; wouldn't surprise me if that nose of yours start peeling if you don't put something on it."_

"_How come you never get burned?" he practically pouted at her before taking a bite of his burger. _

"_Because I put on sun block…and my skin loves the sun."_

"_So unfair," he grumbled. _

"_Yeah, yeah," she giggled while fishing around in her bag for the small bottle she'd brought with her. _

"_I bet Chad doesn't need sun block."_

"_What on earth is the deal with you guys and sun block?"_

"_I don't know… it's just one of those things I guess," he said as he reluctantly accepted the dreaded white substance she held out to him. _

"_Sometimes you guys are too macho for your own good. It's not like people would know if you put it on. I'd much rather prefer you without skin cancer, thank you very much."_

"_Drama Queen," Troy teased, while squirting a good amount of the white cream into the palm of his hand. _

"_Am not. It can totally happen," she argued before popping a French fry into her mouth. _

_Troy held back a chuckle as he rubbed his hands together and then ran them gently over his face and neck to apply the protective lotion. _

"_There, all covered, happy now?"_

_Gabriella simply nodded, but it was clear she was holding back a giggle. _

"_What?" he asked, watching as Gabriella's laughter bubbled to the surface._

"_All white," she giggled and reached her hand out to help smooth out the thick lotion._

"_See!" he said exasperated. "This is why boy don't wear sun block!"_

_The only reply he got was Gabriella's melodious laughter. _

_-HSM-_

_Gabriella felt several droplets of sweat trail down her neck as the sun beat down on her back. They had been out riding for almost two hours and though she enjoyed the gentle movements of the animal beneath her, it was getting too hot for her liking. It felt like her head was slowly being boiled under the thick black helmet and she really couldn't wait to take it off. _

"_You ok, babe? You've been awfully quiet," Troy asked as he maneuvered his horse so he was side by side with Gabriella's. _

"_Yeah, just hot and tired. I'm ready to sleep on the bus all the way home now," she said as wiped her forehead with her hand. _

"_The ranch is just over that hill apparently. We'll be there in a few minutes."_

"_Can you throw water on me or something when we get there?"_

"_Sure."_

_The usual playfulness was gone from her voice and Troy frowned in worry. As they continued on their way, he seemed to be focusing more on her than on the trail in front of them and they both sighed in relief when the ranch came into view. Gabriella was already fantasizing about dipping her head in a bucket of water when they stepped onto the dusty grounds inside the ranch fences. _

_Shaking her head she adjusted her grip on the rains and focused on the stable walls. _

_So close. _

_Suddenly the need to get out of the heat and helmet became urgent as the scenery around her started to spin. Her heart rate sped up and she felt the panic starting to bubble within her. _

'_Just a few more feet' she desperately told herself. _

_She didn't notice that the horse stopped moving or that Troy now stood on the ground next to her. Everything was spinning and she suddenly realized that she was going to faint. _

"_Troy…"_

_She didn't remember falling or Troy catching her before she hit the ground. What she did remember was Troy's frantic call for his dad as he pulled her helmet off and emptied his water bottle on her head to cool her down. _

"_DAD! Call 911!"_

"_911? What's….oh god, what happened?"_

"_She said she was hot and then she fainted...Dad, she fell off the horse…" the last part came out in a way that made Gabriella want to cry and she could feel his hand underneath had head, protecting her from the hard ground. _

_The first tear slipped out before she even managed to open her eyes. _

"_Wake up, babe…"_

"_I don't feel good," she mumbled. _

"_I know; Dads getting a doctor here. It'll be ok, just breathe, baby, it'll be ok," he soothed and gently pushed some wet hair away from her face. Desperate to focus on anything but the nauseating feeling that was spreading through her body, she shifted her thoughts to the movement of Troy's hands as he tried to comfort her. It felt like they'd stayed like that for hours when she finally heard the sirens of the ambulance. _

_Everything after that had become somewhat of a blur. _

_-HSM-_

She had been told at a later date that Troy had managed to stay calm and somewhat collected until he had been wheeled into a room to be treated for heatstroke and dehydration.

It still broke her heart to picture him in tears because of her own stupidity. She hadn't had nearly enough to drink that day and had been put on IV fluids in the hospital until they were certain she was hydrated. The whole incident had caused quite the stir at school and at home. She could still remember clearly how her mother had hovered around her all that summer, making sure she drank enough. Troy had gotten protective as well, but not quite as bad. He just made sure they always had water nearby whenever they were out in the sun for longer periods of time.

Gabriella had understood why they had kept an eye on her, but there really had been no need. She had learned her lesson. If there was one thing she was absolutely sure of, it was that she never wanted a repeat of that day ever again.

Shaking her head slightly she folded the note back together and placed it back in the drawer. The keychain had already made its way to her keys.

Although that day at the ranch had ended badly it still marked something special in their relationship. It was the first time anything serious had happened while they were dating and it had created a whole new level of trust between them.

Troy had stayed with her every minute he had been allowed to. He had gone with her in the ambulance and though she couldn't remember much of it, it meant that he hadn't run off when things got rough.

It wasn't long after that he had told her he loved her.

Smiling to herself Gabriella leaned against the window and closed her eyes. There were still a lot of hours until she would be home in Albuquerque.

-HSM-

Gabriella was restless. She was restless, tired and homesick. If everything had gone smoothly she would have been home by now, but that's not how things had gone. Her train had been delayed due to the heavy snowfall in the region, and then she had almost been refused her attempt to check in at the airport even though the flight was delayed as well. Fifteen minutes and several tears later the issue had been solved with the help of the manager and she had been allowed to pass through security.

Thankfully Troy had not put any suspicious or potentially dangerous items in the calendar so that was one thing that had been relatively drama free.

Her current problem was that she had been sat at the airport for three hours and still didn't know exactly when she'd get on a plane headed for Albuquerque.

Feeling tears well up in her eyes she wiped them stubbornly. She had cried more than enough already.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we will begin boarding flight 765 for Albuquerque at gate 16 shortly. That's flight 765 for Albuquerque at gate 16."

Gabriella's head snapped up the second the voice boomed over the loudspeakers. Glancing around she made sure she was in the right place before fishing out her phone.

_Boarding the place. See you in a few hours._

Three and a half hours until she would be home.

-HSM-

Never in her life had Gabriella had never been happier to be traveling with only hand luggage as she was when she stepped off the plane in her home city. Everyone around her seemed to be rushing around to find the right luggage carousel, only to find 'out of order' signs on half of them, so yet again everything was delayed. Instead of joining in the chaos, Gabriella calmly walked passed it and headed right for the hallway labeled 'Exit to Terminal'.

Changing her grip on the calendar she walked through the automatic doors and looked straight into Troy's eyes. Something about seeing him right there made tears well up in her eyes and without a second thought she sped up and walked into his arms where she could no longer hold back the sobs.

Strong safe arms wrapped around her and she breathed in the smell that Troy.

"Shhhh, baby. It's ok. Everything's going to be ok," he whispered against her hair.

"I know…I just…." She trailed off as she sniffled.

"I know."

Feeling soft gentle kisses on the top of her head she buried her face in his chest and tried to calm herself down.

"Let's go home, babe," Troy said and stroked his rough fingers down her soft cheek. "Mom's got dinner ready and your moms waiting for you at our house."

"Really?"

"Yep. Dad's been rolling his eyes at them all day while trying to watch TV in the living room."

"I'm not sure if I should be happy or worried that our moms get along so well."

"I'm worried… they have our whole lives planned out. Apparently we're having twins, did you know that? Charlie and Connor."

Despite her tears, Gabriella couldn't help but burst out in giggles at his statement.

"Say what now?"

"Exactly."

"Right… now I'm worried too."

"You should be, they'll probably start talking about flower arrangements for the wedding when we arrive."

"But we're not engaged!"

"I don't think they care, babe."

"Oh my god," Gabriella laughed as he guided her out the door and towards his old beat up truck.

Some things never changed.


End file.
